The True You
by Axathr
Summary: A remixed fanfic in honor of Ryker. For those of you who are new, read Light In My Darkness to better understand the main characters. Story won't be a simple rewrite, but will take place in different arcs (so if you like long stories with slightly long chapters, here you go) and the plot will be as unique as possible from LIMD's plot. Rated M for blood, gore, and explicit language.
1. Chapter 1

_**For those still looking forward to The Hidden Flame, we're not sure about continuing it. Our co-writer has been out of contact for a while now and until we get word from him, THL will be on hold for a while.**_

 **Shoutouts to the following (and thank you for those who sent their condolences): TristanLeo, LigerHorse, gwojo, NightTheWatcher, AuraCaster, and sunny1234!**

 _ ***note-Did some final edits and additions to this chapter the night before, saved it on a document app, opened it up later with plans to post it here only to find out that the app glitched out and didn't save! T.T Pissed me off SOOO VERY MUCH. Had to redo a lot of this!**_

 _ **Read, review(if you'd like), and enjoy...**_

"Speech"-Verbal Speech

 _Speech_ -Mental thoughts/Conversations/Sarcasm, emphasis

" _Speech"_ -Verbal Speech from flashbacks

 _ **Speech**_ -Mental thoughts or conversations in flashbacks/Otherworldly Speech

 **Speech** -Attacks (moves)

 **Chapter 1: The Calm and the Storm**

Orange-yellow to red leaves of autumn settled all around the forest, the setting sun complementing the beautiful scenery perfectly with its dimming rays. The trees were tall and thick, they had the capability to easily make one lost in their journey through the forest. Birds of many kinds were sounding off with their variety of chirps and calls. Every now and then, a squirrel would chit-chatter with its companion. One could hear the slow moving river off to the west which led to three large waterfall of significant height, each were separated by rock paths. The crashing falls dropped off to a single large pool where the surface underneath the water was completely absent of any dangerous rock spires.

And yet, with all this, it's barely scratching the surface of the entirety of the landmass known as Zenith which was a part of Moonfyre, an ancient continent. Zenith had several forests, though most of them paled in comparable to the one at subject. One could say that this forest was a paradise among few that had been present since the Grove, known for its winds that were rumored to whisper one's innermost desires at the heart of the forest, was rather more bustling than usual compared to its other days. It was normally very quiet. Perhaps, the forest was responding to an unknown force of sorts. After all, it wouldn't be that surprising, as there were many mystical beings in Zenith.

The Fenrir returning to the large cave hidden behind some forest foliage, being one such being. Humans usually describe them as large and vicious predators, always seeking out to sate their hunger through the flesh of man. The people of Zenith were very cautious when it came to the Fenrir, they usually kept their distance and only resorted to violence if one came too close to their liking. Such event was common at this time, and the Fenrir were nearly extinct with only very few remaining. It was amazing, really, that the humans were able to kill off as many as they did with the Fenrir not being a force to be reckoned with.

In the cave, the large canine placed his recent kill, a deer, onto the stony floor. He didn't mind the few droplets of blood that splattered on his forelegs with him dropping the deer, he could always clean his asphalt-colored fur later after they finished eating. At the sight of them, his mood heightened and the cave became slightly lit with the blue runic flames trailing all around the entire left side of his body, including his bat-like wings and left horn.

 _I'm back, and with a rather plump one as well._ he announced to his family, nuzzling his mate. She was about the same size as him, standing about three meters tall on all fours. Her silver fur was spotless, save for the red runic markings that decorated her muzzle and around her eyes. She held an atmosphere of grace and authority, whereas her mate stood with pride and ruggedness. Her scarlet red eyes contrasted nicely with his cool blue ones, the former resembling ruby gems and the latter resembling icy fire. While she had a lean body and lacked horns, her mate was moderately muscular and had horns that were sprouted into two straight spikes that can easily gore something or someone. It was clear who was the faster one of the two large winged wolves, though it was also obvious who was physically stronger. They were both equally wise though, their minds sharp and as mature as they had been when the two reached adulthood many centuries ago. It was as they should be, the Fenrir's lifespan lasted for a few millenias.

 _I can see that, love._ Midnight, the female adult Fenrir, said to her mate. _It would be more than enough for us and our pups. As expected of my daring hunter._ Shadow chuckled, the sound resembled two rocks being clashed together along with the deep baritone of a growl, at her last statement and looked in between his mate's forelegs. He was amused, seeing one of his two pups eyeing the deer with hunger.

 _Now now, son, wait for your brother to join us before we eat._ Shadow said to the black pup. The pup was about the size of a normal adult wolf. Though, he still had the proportions of a young pup such as his barely developing muzzle and harmless paws that lacked the claws his parents had. His wings were miniature in comparison to those of his parents', they looked inproportional and too large for the rest of his body though that was normal. The pup did not have the runic flames or markings like his parents, though he would soon have them with growth. He did not have any horns yet, though his parents knew that they would grow just as fierce as Shadow's, perhaps more. All in all, the pup was as healthy as he can be. The one peculiar thing about him though, and Shadow was very proud of it, was the fact that his son had white irises instead of the red or blue of his parents. It was a sign, proof that the pup would be the one to fully master the Void.

 _Of course. I know that, Father._ Shadow's son replied as he sat patiently, waiting as his mother turned around to procure his little brother. _A family rises, eats, hunt, and sleeps together._ Shadow felt his chest swell with pride at his son's response. _Father, when will I able to hunt with you and Mother?_

 _When you and Vulcan are old enough. As of right now, neither of you are ready yet and your mother, as well as myself, must rotate everyday with one leaving to hunt and one staying to look after the two of you._ Shadow chuckled again at his son's crestfallen expression, the latter's ears twitched and his tail was tucked in with disappointment. As subtle as the movements were, Shadow could always see through his son's well guarded emotions. _Do not worry, son, it won't be long before you are old enough. I'll take you with me on a hunt to teach you our ways of tracking and taking down our prey while your mother takes care of Vulcan. By then, it won't be long before he, too, becomes old enough to join in on the hunt._ At this, the pup's expression became neutral and his tail began to subtly sway back and forth in eagerness. His son guarded his feelings rather well for one of his age.

 _Would you move aside for your younger brother, please?_ Midnight told her son. The black pup instantly moved to the side and sat back on his haunches as his mother gently released her precious cargo from her jaws to the floor. Another black pup, this one smaller and lacked the abilities to open his eyes, settled on the floor with a whine in response to the sudden cold of the ground. His ears were floppy unlike his older brother's erect ears, and he had two small stumps where his wings would soon grow on his back. His tail was barely a lump of flesh as well, and he did not have any fangs like his older brother. Midnight settled on her side as carefully as she could next to Vulcan, the latter sniffed around while being visually blind. Finally, after a few moments, he found one of his mother's teats and began suckling for milk. _We may eat now, little one._ Midnight told her winged pup.

Now that he had permission from his mother, as well as his father, the older pup and his father began to dig into the deer. While he was only able to tear very small strips at a time, his father tore large scraps of meat of which he transferred to his mate's mouth to help her eat as he fed himself. _Thank you for hunting for us, Father._

 _Yes, thank you for hunting, love._ Midnight told her mate in addition to her son's thanks. Shadow only let out a pleased growl as the family continued to eat.

…

 _Why look, Vulcan's about to see the world for the first time._ Midnight suddenly told her son and mate, the two males looked at her excited expression. She was on her side again, with Vulcan settling down against her as his head turned to and fro as if he was looking for something.

 _About time, Vulcan._ Shadow joked as he sat next to Midnight. The winged pup only remained silent as he watched his younger brother struggle and whine. Several moments passed, with only Vulcan making a sound. Suddenly, and the parents both voiced their excitement, Vulcan stopped swiveling his head and his eyelids began to tremble before opening. The older pup instantly recognized Vulcan's eyes. They were as red as their mother's own eyes.

 _He has your eyes._ Shadow commented lovingly to his mate as Midnight touched noses with Vulcan.

 _I know he does._ Midnight said, her mental tone was that of a pleased mother. _Hello, Vulcan, my little one, how is your first time seeing with your eyes?_ Vulcan only tilted his head in curiosity, sniffing his mother and registering her scent as the one who was always feeding him milk. _You recognize me, don't you?_ Vulcan gave a small yip, their mental conversation allowed universal understanding of sorts. _That's right, I am your mother. Look, little one, your father wants to see you._ Vulcan looked to the right, seeing Shadow for the first time. Again, he registered Shadow's heavy male scent as the one who was always taking care of him whenever his mother left to hunt. Knowing that Shadow was his father, Vulcan yipped and tried closing the distance between them. However, his legs wobbled and Vulcan tumbled forward. Shadow caught him just in time with his nose.

 _Whoa. Hold on now, son, you haven't learned how to walk yet._ Shadow said with amusement, which was also mixed with amazement. Like his older brother, Vulcan was already trying to walk at such a young age. And he nearly succeeded too. The only difference between him and his brother was that the winged one tried to walk without his parents knowing. The result was a painful faceplant to the ground and his whine of pain caught their attention immediately. That was when they realized that he had tried to walk. Shadow then nodded as Vulcan resorted to simply sitting as straight as he could on his haunches, the former raised a paw and indicated to the older, winged pup on the side. _He is your older brother, Vulcan. The two of you will always have each other's backs in times of trial._

Vulcan looked at his brother, finding him to be impressive. He had wings like his parents! Vulcan wanted wings too. Vulcan yipped at his brother as the latter's scent registered as the one who was always sleeping next to him and at one point, drank milk from their mother as well. Trying again, though failing, Vulcan hobbled/crawled over to his older brother and with extreme curiosity, inspected the latter's wings.

 _Hello, brother._ Vulcan almost jumped at his brother's voice, finding it strange that it sounded almost monotone. However, he could tell that the older one cared for him greatly. _Like your name is Vulcan, my name is Ryker._ Vulcan yipped in response before suddenly shivering, wanting warmth. The older pup, Ryker, enveloped Vulcan with a wing and Vulcan buried his head against Ryker's foreleg in appreciation. Shadow and Midnight were very happy at the sight, they noticed that Ryker had just barely of a smile showing. _One day, Vulcan, as I have learned, you'll be able to talk like the rest of us._ Ryker said as Vulcan simply let out a small playful growl of sorts.

As the two played, with Vulcan nibbling Ryker oh so _ferociously_ and Ryker being as gentle as he could be with the red-eyed pup, their parents nuzzled each other. _We made great and beautiful pups._ Midnight said to her mate. Shadow, pleased as well, growled his agreement.

 _That, we did, my dear._ He shifted his attention to the two pups. Ryker was on all fours, allowing Vulcan to try and nip at his tail. _That, we did._ He then nudged their pups' minds with a small gentle, mental probe to get their attention. _Come now, we are going for a walk and then we're going back to the village._

Ryker nodded and beckoned his brother to come along, their playtime was over. Midnight turned around and hung her tail low. Vulcan almost instantly got the idea and latched onto the end of her tail, using it as a support so that he could walk. They knew that with time, as Vulcan watched the way they walked and ran, that he would be able to do the same on his own without the tail.

Ryker, on the other hand, was focused on his father's words. He was disappointed that they were going back to the village so soon. They usually spent their entire weekend in the forest, as a little hideout from the humans. Every week on the weekends, his family would go to the forest and take upon their true Fenrir forms since the forest kept them safe from human eyes. He onced asked his mother why they couldn't just stay in the forest for safety from then on. His mother answered that the humans would connect the dots with their disappearance, as Fenrir were known to have the ability to take on human forms, and would take it so far to burn the forest to look for and kill them. It was as his father had said once, " _Humans, among many others, fear what they don't understand, especially so when they can't force upon their control."_

 _Ryker, we are going, little one._ Midnight called out to him. Ryker snapped out of his thoughts, apologizing to his parents before following the three of them out of the cave. Soon, he thought, he and his family would gain the freedom as all should have and they wouldn't have to hide anymore.

…

Vulcan nearly fell on his rump at the sight of his parents in their human forms. He whined for his parents to come back and protect him, and even wobbled to hide behind his brother. Ryker, understanding his brother's shock, calmly explained to Vulcan as best as he could that the humans before them and their parents were one and the same. Once Vulcan settled down, Midnight and Shadow transformed back and forth to allow Vulcan to register that they were indeed the same. Vulcan didn't understand how they did it, but he knew that they were still his loving and caring parents. His mother, as a human, had long platinum fur...or hair, and stood at the height of around 5'10". She had very light skin and retained her scarlet red eyes. She was slender, though one can see that she was not just a frail woman with the lean muscles that she had. She also had a modest gray dress on. His father stood tall as well, about 6 feet tall with black hair that reached his shoulders along with the same icy blue eyes. Shadow had light skin, a light beard lined his face and lower jaw. One could see that he was very built. He wore a simple blue shirt and dark pants.

Vulcan was so engrossed in his parents changing into humans and the concept of clothes, he didn't notice that Ryker had changed as well. "Father and Mother will teach you how to change as well, brother." The sound of his brother's physical voice was so foreign to Vulcan, he jumped. Turning to see his brother, Vulcan saw that Ryker stood at the height of around four and a half feet with the body equivalent of a boy of seven or eight years. With short black hair, his bangs almost covering his eyes, and his strange white-irised eyes, Ryker was light-skinned as well and wore a simple black collared shirt and pants. _Do not worry, Vulcan, I'm still your brother. THe same Ryker._

Vulcan yipped as he was reassured that his family was still there and didn't struggle when Midnight picked him up. She smiled and touched foreheads with him. _Remain calm, little one, we're going to change you to look like a human as well._ Vulcan closed his eyes, feeling warm energy fill his body. He felt himself change, his legs changing into two different pairs of limbs and his muzzle retracting. He felt his ears change shape and shrink and the fur on his body thinning before changing into tiny hairs. When the rest of his body finished adjusting, he opened his eyes to realize that his form was quite different from the rest of his family. His entire body felt...flabbier, and he felt much weaker in this form. Vulcan then realized with shock that this form was familiar, as if he experienced it several times before.

They all saw him as a child of a couple years. His eyes, as expected, retained their color and on the top of his head, he had a full head of hair. Upon closer inspection though, they realized that the tips of his hair had a reddish tinge to them. "Must be because of my mother's hair." Midnight mused as she noticed the red tint. Ryker nodded at the information. It was the first time they saw the reddish tint in his hair. Ryker had thought that he saw it earlier when they went on their walk and figured his eyes were tricking him.

"It's time to go back." Shadow announced, Midnight and Ryker following him out of the forest as Vulcan tried to talk incomprehensibly all the while.

Their house was about a half-hour walk-though they had flown for about an hour prior-from where they transformed earlier. It wasn't large, being a one-story house with only three rooms. The kitchen and living rooms were directly next to each other, with the dinner table being in the living room by the couches. There was a hallway that led to the three sleeping rooms, one room belonged to Midnight, Shadow, and Vulcan while another room belonged to only Ryker. The third room will not remain vacant for long, Vulcan was fairly close to being old enough to have his own room to himself. And if he ever decided to start crying, Midnight and Shadow's room would be directly across from his.

They had a moderately sized rectangular backyard, enough to mark a mile with about eight laps all around. It was all grass with only two trees, one tree on each end of the backyard. Towards the center of the backyard, there was a bare patch of land that was perhaps a few meters in radius. There were signs of struggle on that patch of land, as if there had been several fights on that area.

In all, their house was fairly average, perhaps slightly above average, among the rest of the village. The entire village was home to a few hundred people, and the houses were arranged all about the side of a mountain. All the homes and architecture were of beautiful work, they were of something similar to Roman architecture though less...dramatic. The people of the village were usually very amiable to their neighbors, and there was always something to be done in the daytime. Very rarely would one find the village quiet with no work being done. Horses were always being led through town with carts and the like for trade and a way for transportation, couriers were constantly running back and forth among the road to deliver messages, and the village's own soldiers-the mayor had asked for volunteers to protect the village if the need ever arises and they were promised handsome pay-were always standing vigilant in their posts.

Ryker, after making sure with his parents that they had nothing to do for the rest of the day, went to the backyard. Finding the bare patch of land that his father, and occasionally, his mother, and him always trained on. Though Ryker was so young, Shadow deemed it necessary to teach his older son self-defense. This included hand-to-hand combat and soon, he was going to introduce swordplay into the mix. On the weekends, whenever they left for the Whispering Grove, Shadow would teach his son how to efficiently defend himself with his weapons...Ryker's claws and fangs. By the end of the weekends, the dummies that they always use would look as if they were put through a paper shredder and then some.

Sitting down in the center of the circle, Ryker began to relax in the calm atmosphere. His thoughts running rampant, he inwardly smiled at the images of his father and mother, and his little brother, of course. They were his family, and he loved them dearly. To him, there was no one else he could ever want in their place. They were his home, his sanctuary. With them, he had nothing to worry about in the world.

"Aren't you too young to be reflecting, little one?" Ryker smiled as he turned around to face his mother. She was smiling with amusement, the same warm smile she'd send him, his father, and Vulcan every day.

"I like to think, Mother." Ryker replied, his smile became wider when Midnight sat next to him with her legs crossed, an arm holding her son close to her side. "It helps me know…"

"Know?"

"Yes. It helps me know what to say and do at the appropriate times." Midnight shook her head, her amusement only building. "Is that wrong, Mother?"

"Of course not, Ryker. You just remind me of your father. I imagine that you are intending to keep your mind focused and quick to react?" Ryker nodded. "With this, you are also honing your awareness and thus, becoming more adept in combat should you ever get in a fight. Like I said, you remind me of your father. His way of thinking, his goal to protect us, it bled into your genes, practically." She laughed at Ryker's sheepish expression. "I can tell your intellect is going to grow even more so, as well as your physical strength. In the future, Ryker, you are going to be looked up to. You will be followed. Like a true alpha."

Ryker grinned at his mother's words, happy with himself. "I won't ever let you or Father down, Mother. And I promise to protect Vulcan and will always be there for him in the future." Midnight hugged him.

"I know you will, and you'll never let us down, Ryker. Come now, I want to continue teaching you how to cook. After we're done, you can do whatever you'd like. Your father will be busy with Vulcan for the rest of the day today, so no training."

Later on that day, Ryker was preparing to read a book in his room. He never got the chance though, as someone knocked on the door to the house. He heard one of his parents go down the hallway and unlock the door. A moment later, it opened and Ryker could hear his mother saying "Ah! How are you doing today, little one?" Ryker immediately set down his book, smiling as he recognized the voice of the person who responded.

"I'm doing good! Thank you, Mrs. Fang." a feminine voice replied. "And you?"

"Just fine, thank you for asking." Midnight answered happily. "May I ask why you are here?"

"My mom and dad let me walk here!" was the cheery answer. "And I saw you all come back from your trip." A moment of silence. "Um, I was wondering if I can play with Ry?" As Ryker left his room, he immediately thought of all the times he and his only friend in the village play in the backyard. He heard his mother chuckle.

"Of course, Roxanne. He should be right-Oh, and there he is." Midnight beckoned Ryker to come over as Roxanne stood patiently at the doorway. The moment Ryker reached his mother's side, Roxanne threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.

"Missed you, Ry!" she said with a giggle. Roxanne stood a head shorter than Ryker, with black hair and silvery gray eyes. She was lightly tanned and wore a purple dress that reached to her ankles.

"Missed you too." Ryker replied albeit more calmly, though the smile on his face gave away the fact that he was really happy to see her. "Mother?" Midnight nodded.

"As long as you two are in the backyard where I can see you." Midnight said warmly. At this, Ryker nodded and led Roxanne to the backyard where the two immediately started a game of thumb war. As usual, Midnight thought as she sat down on a chair and sipped her tea, Roxanne would always come in the afternoon and leave towards the late evening to return home before her parents begun to worry. It became a routine to all of them, including Roxanne's parents, so it would be strange if Roxanne were to suddenly not come one day.

Midnight remembered how the Ryker and Roxanne met, smiling at the adorable memory. It was the first time they brought Ryker along with them on their errand runs in the village. The entire time on the errand run, he wouldn't leave his parents' sides. He was too wary of everyone, not really the most social of children. On one of their last stops at the market, Roxanne bumped into them, lost. Midnight shook her head, remembering that the girl had cried waterfalls and wanted her parents, how she didn't want to be alone. It was then, Midnight and Shadow noticed the plain stare Ryker had given her when he would normally avoid looking at other people. Then, of all things to happen, Ryker walked up to the girl and hugged her, comforting her. She had eventually calmed down and later, they found her parents. The next day, on another errand run, Roxanne had actually went looking and _found_ them, asking Ryker if he wanted to be her friend and play. The two hit it off and since then, the two were the closest of friends.

The one thing that eluded Midnight, however, was where Roxanne came up with the nickname she had given him. "Ry"? It was certainly not something she had ever called her son before, unfathomable with Shadow. The more Midnight thought about it, the more her amusement rose.

"Roxanne?" Midnight turned to see Shadow holding a sleeping Vulcan in his arms. She nodded, smiling as she returned her attention to the playing due. "To think he'd actually grow close to a human."

"Those two are just too cute together." Midnight sighed as she set down her cup. "What would you like for dinner, love? I checked out inventory. I can make beef stew, porridge with meat, grilled venison..." Shadow chuckled, being sure to keep his tone to a minimum to avoid waking Vulcan. He thought about the choices his mate gave him, seemingly not being able to choose. Finally, Shadow shrugged and lightly rubbed her shoulder with his free hand.

"Whatever you'd like to make. In the end, the meal will be divine anyways." Midnight smirked at her mate's reply. He was a smooth talker then, before they got together, and he was a smooth talker now.

"You and your silver tongue." Shadow only kissed her cheek as she stood up, the latter rolling her eyes and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. "You think you're so witty."

"I try." Shadow replied with a smirk, watching his son and Roxanne play in the backyard. "I mean, you weren't able to resist me all those years ago." Midnight playfully sighed exasperatedly.

"We've had this argument before." she laughed. "I believe _you_ were the one drooling over _me_. Why, you were trying to impress me with your horns which were _barely_ maturing." At Shadow feigning an expression of confusion and hurt, she continued. "And you tripped over your words every time I sent a wink your way or a bat of my eyes."

"Now you're just exaggerating."

Outside, Ryker and Roxanne were simply sitting down in the grass. The latter nudged him with an arm. "Hey, you want to see something cool, Ry?"

"Sure, Roxy." Ryker replied as he shifted his body to face her. He watched as she plucked two thick blades of grass from the ground. She then carefully overlapped the ends of the two blades of grass and folded one end over the other. Following that, she folded the remaining end over the folded end. Roxanne continued to do so until the two blades of grass were one and looked similar to a stack of cards at a glance. The girl then pulled on both ends of the strange result and allowed Ryker to see what came of it.

The two blades of grass became the shape of a double helix and when turned one way, the strands seemed to have a never-ending illusion of twisting downwards or upwards. "Where did you learn how to do that?" Ryker asked. Roxanne didn't answer at first, for she raised the grass double helix and spun it with her thumbs while simultaneously, loosened her grip on it. Her creation spun in the air and hovered for a moment before separating back into two blades of grass and falling to the ground.

"I saw someone do it." Roxanne shrugged. "I thought it looked really cool." Ryker nodded and, to her surprise, made a second grass double helix in seconds. "It's not fair, you always learn so fast." she pouted. Ryker only laughed softly as he spun the grass out of his hands, the strands floating back to the ground.

"My parents say the same thing. It's not always a good thing for me. When I learn something new, whatever it is, and master it, something more challenging gets thrown my way." Ryker thought of his lessons with his father on self-defense and internally winced. He remembered mastering how to avoid a sweep of the legs then right after, being taught on how to recover from being thrown over one's shoulder. He had lunch with bruises that day...though, there wasn't a time where he came from training unscathed. Ryker's father was harsh, for his own good of course. His mother was a bit more lenient, but she mainly taught him how to cook on his own. Ryker, however, saw his mother beat his father in a spar on more than one occasion. The most recent occasion between Midnight and Shadow, Ryker winced at the thought of it.

He'd never knew that a punch to the diaphragm could cause someone to double over as well as potentially give them lasting dyspnea...And he had never knew that his father was able to give so many cries of suffrage.

"Anyway," Ryker said to Roxanne, "how are your studies coming along?" Roxanne's expression darkened.

"Well, but too tiring." Roxanne then scowled at Ryker's amused expression. "It is! I'm studying as much as the cattle leave behind their wastes!" And it was true. At home, Roxanne spent most of her time studying and her parents allowed her to do whatever she'd like only after the few hours that is taken away from her day. Hell, if she wanted, she could recite an entire passage from one of her books if she wanted to. And that was another thing. Being literate was such an important thing in her family, they practically drill the knowledge in her head in hopes that she wouldn't forget in the future. And with that, came with more vocabulary and words that had no business being in a child's diction.

"You shouldn't fret so much, it'll only serve you better in the future." Ryker replied. Roxanne's fiery expression fell and she nodded reluctantly in agreement. "I'll always be here to help, Roxy. You can come to me whenever you'd like." At her beaming expression, he added. "Well, except on the weekends." At his last statement, the girl raised an eyebrow. She had actually been wondering about that.

"Where do you go on the weekends? Your parents always say that it's just a trip."

"It is just a trip, I promise." Ryker replied, hearing the irritation in her tone. He was glad that he knew how to work his words around, he didn't like to lie. He hated lying. "A break from everything, some peace and quiet."

"So you're all annoyed at the rest of us?"

"No. I never said that."

"Then what?"

"Think of it as a very short vacation, miniature versions of the ones you and your family go on once a year on a full moon." Ryker hoped that she wouldn't try to dig any further. He knew not to tell her about his true identity, for it would possibly result in him losing a friend. It would also result in his family being endangered, with the Fenrir species being on the line as well. To his relief, however, Roxanne seemed to accept his answer with an understand nod and returned to sitting relaxedly.

Ryker inwardly frowned about the entire situation. Friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other and in a way, he was technically lying to her about who he was. He didn't like it, not one bit. He wanted to tell her, to not be afraid of the repercussions if he did. He wished that his species could be simply left alone to their own devices, not hunted down to oblivion just because of human fear. He wanted to be who he truly was, and for Roxanne to accept him as who he is as her friend still, and continue living a calm and peaceful life there in the village.

It was all ideal, Ryker knew that. But, he couldn't help but to dream.

 _Three years later..._

Pain. Sorrow. Anger. Guilt. Why did this happen? His family did nothing to deserve this...But it was all his fault. It was so unbelievable, to think that the amiable people of the village of Zenith would turn on the Fang family so quickly and without hesitance the moment they figured out about their true identities. " _Humans, among many others, fear what they don't understand, especially so when they can't force upon their control."_ Even now, Ryker recalled his father's words.

Pain. Sorrow. Anger. Guilt...And then…nothing. As Ryker turned away from his former human home that was burning down, with the corpses of his family within, one word resounded in his mind. It had been since the moment the last of his family's cries sounded in the night...It was his fault. If only he had been more careful. If only he hadn't went just outside the village to rest in the forest without his parents' knowledge. What were the odds when someone leaving from the village decided to go off the path on a whim and stumbled upon seeing Ryker changing from his true form into his human form before running back to the village to tell everyone? Not even a few hours later, the majority of the village was at the door demanding blood.

 _ **Kill.**_

Ryker clenched his fists. He had been so...helpless when it happened. He wanted to do something, but his parents told him to remain hidden. Not long ago, he could only stay hidden as he heard his family being slaughtered one by one, his little brother's cries being the last to quiet. What had they done to deserve the humans' ire? They had always kept to themselves, and the neighbors were always so amiable despite the fact that the Fang family kept their distance. What had they done to deserve this?

 _ **Kill.**_

Ryker didn't care about the fact that blood was running down his hands, a result from his fingers digging into his palms. He didn't care for the irritating grinding noise that came with him gritting his teeth. He didn't care that he was breathing in so much smoke. His eyes were clenched shut, and he could still his dried tears.

 _ **Avenge your family.**_

Ryker grunted as his legs snapped back in the middle between his knees and ankles. As he grew in size, his clothes tore and ripped asunder. His skin began to tear in several areas, black fur erupting from those spots. Two stumps rose from his back, and another pair of smaller stumps grew on his head. The skin on his face began splitting apart starting from his nose, blood was pouring from the crack as well as from other parts of his transforming body. As his tail grew, the two stumps on his back tore free from their prisons and showered blood. They were his wings. Lurching forward as his ribcage and internal organs rearranged themselves, his small horns broke through the skin on his head as the crack on his nose grew bigger.

His claws grew from his hands and feet, now paws, and his teeth fell out one by one. Fangs and canines quickly took their places afterwards. It was then when the crack on his face branched all around before his fragmented face _exploded_ outwards, his muzzle and the rest of his Fenrir form emerging. Lastly, his two upper canines extended until they slightly overhung his lower lip.

And so, as the villagers of Zenith celebrated the slaughter of what they thought to be the last of the Fenrir, Ryker snapped his eyes open and grunted at his violent transformation. It hurt immensely, he forgot to numb the pain. He looked up at the sky, eyeing the full moon which was somewhat obscured by the smoke and embers of the burning house. With a small snarl, Ryker let loose a howl. In the village, they stopped their celebrations immediately. Many of the paled at the sound of the howl, for they knew it was no normal howl of an average wolf. The howl..It didn't tell them of the pain Ryker felt. His sorrow. His anger. His guilt.

The villagers rushed frantically to reorganize the Fenrir-killing party. Many went to procure the weapons, while others prepared to flee the village with their children if necessary. A few of the villagers, as ignorant as they were, thought that the Fenrir would not fight back like the rest of his family. That it would allow itself to be put down without a fight. But, listening to Ryker's howl quickly reminded them what they were dealing with. It didn't tell them that they were safe, it didn't tell them that the Fenrir's spirit was broken.

It told them that the hunt had begun, and they were the prey.

Later, the village was in turmoil. Flames hungrily ate away at the houses and the villagers who were unfortunate enough to get caught in them. For a fleeting moment, Ryker had wondered if his parents would have been proud of him producing his first long-lasting flames...though perhaps not so much considering how he was currently utilizing them. The group of villagers who had been assigned to take down the Fenrir had abandoned their positions and threw down their weapons in panic due to the large wolf creature rampaging around their home. Many had been torn to ribbons, others were charred or writhing in agony on the ground as the flames ate away at their bodies, and there were a few who had been trying to sneak away in hopes to escape.

Ryker was relentless and showed them no mercy, he pounced on each of them like a feral animal.

The screams of terror and agony along with the cries of mercy were soon silenced. Ryker stood in the center of it all, the ground scorched and ash polluting the air. Nothing was heard save for the cackling of the remaining flames and the Fenrir's heavy panting. Soon, Ryker shook his head as he recovered from his rage-induced haze. It was then he finally took in his surroundings. He registered the charred and mutilated corpses, the destroyed house...the destruction he had caused. Ryker's blood ran cold at the realization.

Did he really cause all this?...Of course, who else could it have been? Ryker shook his head, disbelieving. He had brutally killed-no, _slaughtered_ an entire village. His heart rate rose again as the screams of the villagers sounded in his mind, threatening to deafen him and haunt him for the rest of his life. Ryker took a step back, noticing with revulsion that his claws were slick with blood, as was his muzzle. The Fenrir retched, disgorging the contents of whatever he had eaten for lunch earlier.

Horrified, Ryker took to the skies. He wanted to be elsewhere, anywhere but _there._ He flew and flew for what seemed to be an eternity to him, though it was only several hours in reality, until he landed haphazardly on his side on the ground. Ryker didn't bother getting up from the ground, despite his bruising side and legs. He blankly looked at himself, sickened by his bloodstained fur and claws. He closed his eyes. _Monster...Murderer…_ Ryker simply shifted into his human form, he didn't want to see himself as the Fenrir who wiped out the village of Zenith.

And Ryker continued to lay there, not moving for the longest of time.

…

The boy guzzled down his bottle of water, it was unusually hot that day. Wiping his mouth and tossing the bottle into a convenient recycling bin, he resumed playing with his Noctowl. The latter was handed down to him by his sister who up and left home to become a Gym Leader. At first, he didn't think that he and Noctowl would ever get along since the latter was very close to his sister. Surprisingly, and amazingly, the two of them were actually the closest of friends.

The two played until their bodies threatened to overheat. The boy smiled as he returned his content Noctowl to its pokeball, getting up to stretch for a moment before deciding to go back inside his house. However, he stopped. The girl across the street caught his eye as she was making rather detailed drawings with a piece of chalk on her own. If he recalled correctly, she and her family moved into their neighborhood about a year ago.

Seeing her crestfallen expression, he walked across the street and the two made eye contact. The boy smiled and waved. "Nice to meet you, mind if I join?" The girl thought to herself for a moment before shrugging, breaking her piece of chalk in half before tossing it to him. "Thanks."

"No problem." the girl replied with her own smile. "You like to draw too?"

"Sure, but if my drawings are bad, don't laugh." the boy cheekily answered with a laugh, earning a laugh from the girl as well. "I'm just a kid with no skills." he modestly added. Rolling her eyes, the girl questioned him further.

"What's your name?" The boy raised an eyebrow at her before another smile creased his features.

"You first, you're the new one here." The girl glared at him, but he knew she wasn't really mad. She then continued to draw, occasionally glancing at the sky with her gray eyes.

"Roxanne, I'm from overseas. And you are?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Here's another chapter, guys. Actually got this one done in about...half a day's worth in total. Nyx did the first several pages in a couple of hours before we went to spend the night at our aunt's for a week, and I finished up the rest of the chapter today so...Read, review (if you'd like), and enjoy! Oh, and spotlight fanfic of the week is "Wolf in Shepard's Clothing" by cmitts93 for those of you who are into the Mass Effect series. It's a great fanfic so if you haven't already, go check it out!**_

 _ **No shoutouts this time, no reviews or favorites/follows XD. To the story now!**_

"Speech"-Verbal Speech

 _Speech_ -Mental thoughts/Conversations/Sarcasm, emphasis

" _Speech"_ -Verbal Speech from flashbacks

 _ **Speech**_ -Mental thoughts or conversations in flashbacks/Otherworldly Speech

 **Speech** -Attacks (moves)

 **Chapter 2: Jeanne's Request**

 _A Few Years Later…_

 _ **With Roxanne**_

Roxanne sighed tiredly as she unlocked the door to her apartment and went, leaving the groceries by the door and slipping off her shoes. "Done with groceries, Hugh! Your turn to cook tonight!" When she didn't get a reply, she checked her watch, frowning. 10:27 p.m. Hugh should be back from work already, his shift had ended a couple of hours ago. Shaking her head, Roxanne went down the hallway and knocked on Hugh's door. "Wake up, Hugh."

"Want to sleep in some more…" came Hugh's reply. Roxanne rolled her eyes, smiling as she thought that he had kept his habits since all those years before.

"We'll go without food if you don't get up."

"We can last." Roxanne raised an eyebrow, he really wanted sleep. "Why don't you cook today?"

"Because I cooked _yesterday_ , Hugh. Come on, I'll give you ten minutes." Hearing a sigh of compliance from behind the door, Roxanne laughed as she went further down the hallway and entered the bathroom. She untied her hair and turned on the faucet, rinsing her face. In her peripherals, she spotted the picture hanging on the wall. It was of her, Hugh, and Oculus, Hugh's Noctowl, a few days after the day they met. _We really grew, didn't we?_

Now 17, she was no longer around 4 feet in height. Roxanne stood at 5'9" and was quite slender. With small pouty lips and her bangs framing her face, her gray eyes were still as stormy as they had been when she was a child. Roxanne had a scar on the right side of her face, it started horizontally underneath her eye before branching down into three and meeting her tree. The scar was the result of her instigating a fight with an Original. Aside from the scar, she still had her long black hair and her skin was actually less tanned than it had been from when she first moved to Johto.

She stood there for several moments, recollecting on all they had done in the last four-five years. The two of the had been the best of friends, and ended up going on the Trainer's circuit together, with Roxanne tagging along just to accompany Hugh and his Noctowl. In their travels, Hugh had beaten six Gym Leaders (and they took their time, with months of training in between Gym Leaders) and they had decided to take a break of sorts, and here they were now. Roxanne dried her face with her towel before leaving the bathroom, almost running into her best friend.

Hugh did not really change much either from childhood. He was much taller, that much was for sure. Standing at the same height as her, if not, maybe a half a head taller, Hugh's short black hair clung to his forehead, probably due to the accumulating warmth in the house. His glasses, of which matched the warm brown color of his eyes, were askew, giving evidence that he had put them on haphazardly without much of a care (Who would after having their nap interrupted?). He was in shape, lean for a male in his current stage of life. Hugh wore a dark blue shirt and black shorts, typical clothing for one at home.

"What am I making today?" Hugh asked with a yawn, straightening out his shirt as they walked to the small living room. The kitchen was even smaller, though just big enough for two people at maximum to work in. Hugh spotted the bag of groceries and brought them over to the kitchen as Roxanne flopped onto the couch and turned on the small TV.

"Sorry, Oculus." she muttered, the Noctowl was recovering from his near-fall from the armrest of the chair. She had almost knocked him over.

"It's fine, as long as you don't sit on me." Oculus replied, the translator earpieces that the two humans had bought working perfectly. Hugh's wins from all the battles that accumulated over the years earned him quite a lot of cash. For Roxanne, she had been gaining money through some dangerous odd jobs here and there that were usually meant for experienced Trainers such as locating a rogue pokemon that had been attacking Trainers on the road and the like. Needless to say, Roxanne didn't care so much about the dangers. Of the two of them though, Hugh made more money.

"Calling me fat?" Roxanne challenged jokingly.

"I'm not stupid." The two shared a chuckle as Roxanne turned to answer Hugh's earlier question. She watched as he fumbled with the grocery bags, knowing full well that he hated untying the knots she'd always tie. Roxanne smirked, finding great amusement.

"There's stuff to make enchiladas with in the bags, I also bought some snacks too. The fruit cups are mine, by the way, don't touch them. I bought you some chips." She loved fruit cups, whether they'd be jello cups with peach dices, or fruit cocktails. She loved the canned ones as well.

"Nice, thanks." Hugh told her with a smile as he finally got the bags open. He pulled out a few bags of chips along with Roxanne's fruit cups. He then pulled out actual full fruits and placed them on the table next to the kitchen. Finally, he gathered the ingredients needed to make the enchiladas and placed them on the kitchen counter before storing their snacks into their respective cabinets. "Wait, did you buy any water?"

"I did yesterday, remember? They're in the pantry." Hugh opened the pantry and sure enough, a group of water bottles in six rows of five were placed neatly on the bottom shelf. "Should be thirty of them, and I'd know since _I_ was the one who carried them all the way from the store." Hugh chuckled at that.

"Well, be glad I'm your cook and that I'm not a bad one." He chuckled once more as Roxanne raised both of her hands and eyed the roof of the house as if saying 'Hallelujah!' With that, he got to cooking.

Roxanne focused her attention on the TV, currently tuned in to the news channel of Johto. The anchorwoman looked extremely tired on air, as if she missed several hours of sleep. To her credit, the makeup she wore hid the bags underneath her eyes. Though, Roxanne wasn't one to be fooled that easily. She continued to nitpick everything she could find on the news channel just for the fun of it, not really paying attention to the actual news. To her left, Oculus was busying himself with any feathers out of place in his wings and plumage.

And then, she felt it. In the back of her mind, she felt a faint tingling. She didn't know what it was, whether it was a warning or sixth sense or such, but it was definitely there. She shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to will the almost irritating sensation away. That was when it happened.

Opening her eyes, she immediately realized that something was off. All color seemed to be drained from the world and all movements ceased. Everything happening on TV was frozen, as were Oculus and Hugh. The air seemed stilled, and she even spotted a butterfly frozen mid-flight as it was trying to fly in through the open window. _What the hell is going on?_ "Hugh? Oculus?" She waved a hand in front of Oculus's eyes, but he gave no response. She quickly made her way over to Hugh and did the same, only to receive the same result. "What's happening?!"

 _Calm yourself, my child._

Roxanne instantly tensed, the ethereal voice had resonated from _within_ her head. She began thinking of the possibilities, figuring that an intruding psychic or psychic pokemon had made their way inside without making themselves known. As she thought of this, and remembering that she had some form of defense, she also did her best to build up a mental wall around her mind to prevent the psychic from reading any of her thoughts or assaulting her mind psychically. "Who's there?!" She quickly procured the razor from her pocket and taking the chance the intruder was behind her, as she was beginning to feel a presence there, she spun around and slashed.

The razor, and her body, was held fast by a psychic force. Cursing mentally, she could only struggle to regain control over her body. Roxanne then heard a chuckle, looking ahead to see just who or what was restricting her movements.

 _You have an impressive reaction time for a human, Roxanne Sylva._ Roxanne momentarily held her breath as she took in the sight of the white stag floating there. A golden ring around its middle and several transparent plates floating around its body, Roxanne managed to come up with what she was seeing.

Arceus, the goddess of pokemon.

 _So you recognize who I am now?_ Arceus seemed amused as she released her psychic hold on the woman. Roxanne fell to her knees, nodding dumbly. She remembered reading about Arceus, finding the claims to be spot on. The goddess's appearance, aura of power and authority, and even the mother or fatherly (in this case, motherly, obviously) presence she gave off. Roxanne thought that it was similar to when she first moved to Johto, having never seen a pokemon before. But this feeling of awe..it was intensified exponentially.

Throwing her nervousness to the side, Roxanne took a breath and almost glared at the Arceus. "Why are you here?" Again, the Arceus seemed amused. No doubt it was because of her lack of manners or respect to the goddess, though it was in her personality and Arceus knew that.

 _To give you an offer, of course._ Arceus replied in a matter-of-factly tone. She floated over to the couch, which was large enough to seat her without an issue. She then patted the empty seat next to her with a hoof. Roxanne hesitated, wondering what sort of offer Arceus could possibly be making to a human like her. She tried recalling if she had done anything such as an amazing good deed, or a horrible bad one, in case that was why she had Arceus's attention.

Deciding to just go with it- _Screw it, it's not like I can back away from this._ -, Roxanne took a seat next to Arceus who suddenly, transformed into a human. With light skin and golden hair, this human form of Arceus also had gleaming green eyes with red inner irses. She wore a white dress and was actually of average height for women. She had nothing worn for her feet though she did have a gold anklet around her right ankle. "What do you mean by 'offer'?" A

Arceus summoned, out of all things, a teapot and two cups. She poured some tea into one, offering one to Roxanne. The latter nodded her thanks and took it, Arceus only smiling before pouring herself a cup. "Now then, my offer, which is not the tea, mind you." Arceus said with a hint of mirth. Roxanne only smiled in kind, her hesitance and nervousness gone. "I'd like for you to work under me."

Roxanne nearly spilled her tea at the words, looking at Arceus with shock. "Work under _you_?" Arceus nodded, taking a sip of tea as the floating teapot rested on the table. "First of all, why me? And second of all, what kind of work?" Arceus smirked inwardly to herself. Roxanne, whether or not she decided to work for her, had just indicated that she _was_ interested at the last by asking the second question.

"It could be anything, actually." Arceus replied. "I can assign you to watch over someone of significance, you could be defending pokemon or humans alike, you could even be part of my Knights and be assigned the same responsibilities as the rest of them. As for why I'm extending my offer to _you_.." Arceus glanced at Roxanne, the latter suddenly feeling as if the goddess was staring at her very soul. "...I have several reasons. You are pure of heart-" Roxanne _barely_ held in a snort at that. "-and you are also part of the small percentage of this world who could actually make a good difference without falling from the path. You are also content with what you are having now…" Arceus indicated Roxanne's surroundings, emphasizing Hugh and Oculus, as well as everything in general. "But I can tell that you don't truly feel like you have a purpose other than being a close friend to Hugh over there."

Roxanne frowned. The goddess was reading her like a book. She was right, of course. Right now, Roxanne was absolutely enjoying her travels with Hugh and Oculus, as well as the rest of Hugh's partners in the Trainer's circuit. However, what came next after everything was said and done? Would they move on to Kanto or another region? Would they simply call it a good run and go their separate ways? If the former, it seemed that it will get repetitive soon enough. With the latter, Roxanne didn't know what she'd do at that point. But this offer...It was an appealing one, as it seemed to give her an actual purpose.

"You'd also eventually recover something lost to you." Arceus added nonchalantly. At this, Roxanne almost spilled her tea again. Something lost to her? Did Arceus mean something materialistic? A dream or goal that she once had? Or...could Arceus mean the one she left behind?...The one whose current status was unknown to her as the village of Zenith was no longer there or rather, absolutely _destroyed_ , from what her parents had seen when they went back to the village to check up on things a few months ago. Something.. _Someone_ lost to her…

"So if I were to take you up on this offer, what would become of them?" Roxanne indicated Hugh and Oculus, as well as thinking of the rest of Hugh's team. Arceus only nodded.

"They are of pure of heart as well, though they seem to be focused on the Trainer's circuit for now." Arceus sighed in content, pouring herself some more tea. "Of course, I could extend the offer to them as well, though it is their choice. And if they do decide to come along as well, know that you will not always be around them. My agents are assigned to different tasks depending on skill and personality or behavior, you may not always be assigned to the same mission as he. There will be times when you may be assigned to a mission on your own, you may not even get a partner."

Roxanne inwardly sighed, figuring that she would get an answer like that. "So...can you tell me what I would be recovering? The something that I lost?" Arceus only shook her head.

"That is for you to find on your own, and that depends on whether or not you take up my offer. Even then, if Fate is unmerciful, you still may not even recover it until much later." Roxanne clenched her fists. "So, would you like to join me? I do not have much more time to spare here, so your answer must be brought up quickly."

This was it. It was either take the offer or shut it down. _What do I do?_ She thought of what may end up happening with Hugh and his team. If they deny the offer, she may never see him again seeing as she would be assigned to missions that would likely not involve them. And if they were to take the offer, she may not be able to see them much even then. _Damn it all._ Decisions, decisions. Roxanne wished she had more time to prepare. It was too out of the blue, and she was still shocked that Arceus came to see her in the first place!

And then, there was the something that she had lost. What was it? Or perhaps...Who? There was a chance, Roxanne thought, a chance that it might be _him._ It might just be ideal, it may be something else entirely, but it was still a chance. Thinking about it quickly brought her to her decision.

Whatever chance she had, however small it may be, she wanted to take it.

Arceus smiled as Roxanne adopted a look of determination all of a sudden. "Have you come to your decision?" Roxanne nodded.

"Yes. I want to work with you." At this, Arceus grinned, her brilliant white teeth and general smile would have charmed many males.

"Splendid." Time was suddenly restored to its state, Hugh almost tripped from where he was standing and Oculus screeching loudly. The two of them looked at Roxanne and Arceus, both wide eyed and shocked beyond belief. "These two, as well as the rest of their team, have been listening in on the start." Arceus explained. Roxanne was about to question her, but Arceus continued. "I allowed them to, but I kept them within time's effects so that whatever opinion they may have about the matter we were just discussing over, you wouldn't be influenced on your decision." Seeing that Roxanne had already finished her tea, Arceus dispelled the cups and teapot before transforming back into her true appearance. She rose from her seat, floating, and looked over to Hugh and Oculus. _You and your team may take me up on the same offer. But know that you may not always have the time to continue what you have now._

Hugh looked from Arceus to Oculus, then to Roxanne. He had been thinking about the offer ever since Arceus had first explained it to Roxanne. He looked at Oculus again, seeing his Noctowl friend nod almost imperceptibly. He also, somehow in someway, felt the hearts of the rest of his team agreeing with it as well. Finally, with a deep breath, Hugh nodded. "I would like to work with you as well, along with the rest of my team." Arceus nodded, her grin returned.

"Very well." Her form began to fade out of view. "You two have a month to finish things up and wrap up loose ends. Be sure to let your families and friends know that you may not be able to come around should they need you. Also. please refrain from telling anyone of our meeting. Absolutely _no one_. Should you do so, your memories of me and what transpired here will be wiped, along with the memories of whatever you told of that person. Until then, my children." With that, Arceus completely disappeared.

With her gone, the three visibly relaxed and looked at each other. For a moment, they didn't believe that they had just met and agreed to work with Arceus. _Arceus_ , for...well, Arceus's sake. _Oh, and when we're not on business, feel free to call me by my name, Jeanne._ Arceus told them mentally before her presence disappeared once more. Roxanne and Hugh sighed.

It was going to be a long day.

…

 _The next day..._

 _ **With Aurora**_

Aurora turned another corner down the halls of the Hall of Origins. Yawning, she briefly extended her wings in a stretch and craning her neck to work out a chink within. _Why she called me here SO VERY EARLY in the morning is beyond me._ she thought. _Sure, I swore an oath to her when I became a Legendary, swearing that I'd heed her every call and all that, but it's only a few hours after dawn!_ Shaking her head, Aurora continued to pad down the hallway until stopping before Jeanne's chambers. She sent a small mental signal to the Arceus within, allowing the latter to know that it was her. Before long, the chamber doors opened and Aurora went it with a weary smile.

 _I'm glad you're here, Lady Akirari._ the Arceus in waiting, Jeanne, told her before the doors closed. _I'm sorry for calling you here so early, and on such short notice._ Aurora shook her head.

 _No need to apologize, I've had some coffee._ Aurora responded with a little laugh, shaking her head at Jeanne and letting the Arceus know she was joking. Jeanne laughed as well.

 _I appreciate your sense of humor, Aurora._ Jeanne replied. The Arceus then gave Aurora a small inspection, prodding at the latter's wings and tail. _Have you gotten used to this form yet? It has only been a couple of days._ Aurora nodded, understanding Jeanne's question. Recently, Aurora had "evolved" into her current form. She used to be an Islingr Suicune, Islingr meaning "Light". What made her different from other Suicune was the fact that Aurora could manipulate the element of Light at will. Physically, she used to have white fur and blue diamond spots which differed from the usual blue fur and white diamond spots of her species. She also used to have a blue mane and matching eyes. And to top it all off, she had wings which was probably the biggest physical difference from the rest of her species.

Now that she had evolved the other day into an Akirari, meaning "Light" and "Purity", she resembled more like a wolf. Her eyes were blue ringed with silver, they were practically glowing. Aurora still had her white fur and leathery white wings and the fur along her back had bluish tinged tips, but her twin tails became one though there were two ribbon-like extensions extending from the base of her rump that helixed around her tail. She had these glowing blue streamlines trailing from the tip of her nose, to the top of her head, then down to her sides. These streamlines also covered the inside of her wings. Every now and then, the invisible streamlines would pulse with blue before falling dim again. Her fur around her chest were "puffed" up in a way, making the Akirari a bit more exotic. Her claws and four canines were actually an icy blue, emitting a frosty mist.

Aurora shrugged with a smile, Jeanne raised an eyeridge at the action. _I have._ Another laugh from her. _I'm still getting used to being called "Lady Akirari", I draw a blank half the time whenever someone calls me that._ Jeanne also chuckled at this.

 _I'd imagine so._ The Arceus then adopted a neutral expression and hovered over to the back of the room. Aurora, recognizing how serious the atmosphere suddenly became, dropped her lighthearted demeanor and followed the Arceus. Jeanne tapped a wall with a hoof, a vertical line revealed that the wall was actually a hidden door. It opened, leading only into darkness. Jeanne motioned for Aurora to follow before the two went in, the door closing behind them moments afterwards.

 _Where are we going?_ Aurora asked.

 _To Lord Fenrir's chambers._ Jeanne replied. She didn't notice Aurora's stern expression and continued on. _You all know by now that he usually arrives through his portals and that he never walks back to his chambers. This is the only physical way to get there, I use this passage whenever I or my mate need to discuss with him. Those who are not permitted to use this passage would lose their way and become lost to the darkness here._ Aurora nodded. _The only other way to get there is if he brings you along, though I'm sure you know that he wouldn't bring anyone to his chambers. And he made sure no one can get there in any other way other than the two ways I've told you, trust me when I say that._

 _Why are we meeting with him?_ Aurora asked cautiously. She was actually drawing closer to the Arceus with every passing second, she didn't feel comfortable where they are. Aurora was also mentally shivering at the thought of Lord Fenrir. Of all the times she had seen him in the past, there was never a time when he _didn't_ take things seriously or drop the cold expression he always wore. She never got used to his gaze either, his stare would always chill her to the core despite herself.

 _I'll tell the two of you in due time._ Jeanne replied.

 _Lord Fenrir doesn't know we're coming, I take it?_

 _He does, but he does not know the purpose of the meeting._ Deciding to leave things at that, Aurora remained silent. She thought about where they were, how Jeanne never seemed to change direction. The Akirari also noticed that even though they were in pitch black darkness, despite her natural night vision,, she could still _see_ the shadows. And they seemed almost...tangible. And alive. Aurora almost swore that they were beckoning her, as if luring her to go off the whatever path they were taking. Shaking her head once more, Aurora kept her focus on the Arceus leading her.

They walked (or floated in Jeanne's case) for several more minutes before Jeanne suddenly stopped. _Are we..?_ Aurora asked, trailing off.

 _We are here. Do you mind illuminating our position, Lady Akirari? And put some power into it, a simple orb of light wouldn't do much._

 _Of course, I don't. I don't mind at all._ Aurora thought to herself, feeling that the darkness around them was almost suffocating. Opening her mouth, Aurora produced a moderately sized orb of light. It rose further in the air above them, glowing brighter and brighter as Aurora fed more energy into it. It took a while, but the area around them eventually became visible. Aurora could see the path they had taken, it was a straight path that would lead them back to Jeanne's chambers. They were currently standing on an asphalt-colored floor, about five meters wide and a few meters long from what they could see. Behind them, aside from the path, was the vast expanse of darkness that was very slowly receding. Aurora could tell that it was only temporary, as the darkness seemed to be fighting back.

Before them was a large set of double doors, black in color. There were strange runic engravings adorning the doors, and several sets of transparent black bars that Aurora could only assume were locks. From within, Aurora could sense absolutely nothing at all. Just...nothing.

Aurora was about to suggest that the Lord Fenrir was not there from the lack of presences, but stopped as she noticed the transparent black locks on the doors recede. After a few moments of waiting, Jeanne turned her head to Aurora. _As you can see, he has take extra precautionary measures._ The doors suddenly opened, slowly as if for dramatic effect. Jeanne took the lead again and went inside, Aurora reluctantly following the Arceus. The moment the two stepped inside, the doors closed. If Aurora hadn't looked back to ensure there was nothing behind her, she wouldn't have noticed the doors closing for they closed with deathly silence.

Aurora then took a look around, noticing that the room was practically bare. There was a desk with several documents and such on it, as well as another door that led to who knows where. There was several shelves with books, and last of all, a very large bed in the back of the room that seemed almost double her size! And as she was now in her true form, she stood at almost four meters tall.

 _How have you been, Lord Fenrir?_ Aurora looked around at Jeanne's question, noticing no one but herself and the Arceus in front of her. She then caught movement and almost widened her eyes in surprise. From within a shadow next to the bed, a black paw emerged. Then came the rest of Lord Fenrir's body. As he stood before them, standing a few heads taller than Aurora and Jeanne, the former found herself taking in his appearance as she could not fully recall the last time she saw him.

Lord Fenrir had black fur and like her, was a winged wolf of sorts. However, he was almost the opposite of her in every way. His wings were tattered, though she and Jeanne knew that they were still fully functional. His tail wasn't bushy like her own tail, though it was flickering at the tip as if it was aflame. On either of his shoulders was a horned canine skull, the two skulls each had two horns along with a horn on the muzzle area. His fur was rough, Aurora would bet at the sight of it, though well kept and stainless. Like the shadows in the passageway outside, they could see that he had black tribal markings on his black-furred body when normally, black on black would not be able to be distinguishable. Lord Fenrir had five horns, two large ones on his head and two small ones in between which were curved back. His fifth horn was on the tip of his muzzle. His intimidating appearance continued with a chin spike that was about half the size of the horn on his muzzle.

On his back were two blade-like protrusions extending from in between his shoulders to stopping just a few inches past the base of his tail. Aurora knew that they were used offensively in someway. Finally, Lord Fenrir's two upper canines hung over his bottom lip, though not enough to the extent of those of a sabertooth tiger.

One could instantly tell the opposites between herself, and Lord Fenrir. White, and black. Not horned, horned. Pristine wings, tattered wings. One had control over Water, Ice, and Light, the other had control over Fire and Darkness though Aurora remembered specifically that the Darkness was actually Void. Aurora was among the average height of the Legendaries, Lord Fenrir was _tall_.

And then there was the fact that she was a female and he was a male, though that was a given. Oh, and where she had glowing blue streamlines on her body and emitted frosty mist, Lord Fenrir was on _fire_ along his tribal markings and dark wisps flowed from his body.

 _I have been doing well, Lady Arceus, thank you._ the Fenrir spoke in his baritone voice, Aurora could feel almost no emotion behind it save for respect for the Arceus and herself, as all Legendaries were expected to have respect for one another. _I trust that you can say the same?_

 _I can._ Jeanne replied with a small smile. The Fenrir then turned his head to Aurora who nearly averted her gaze. She knew that she would never get used to it, his white eyes seemed to pierce her very own and she had trouble fighting off a rising chill.

 _It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Akirari._ he told her, Aurora recalled the fact that they were never properly held a conversation in the Hall of Origins aside from him introducing himself to the rest of the Legendaries when he had first joined.

 _Likewise, Lord Fenrir._ Aurora replied. The Fenrir then returned his attention to Jeanne.

 _I would like to know the purpose of this meeting, Lady Arceus._ Jeanne nodded and lowered herself to the ground where she rested on her legs.

 _You two should sit, there's no point in standing for long._ The Fenrir and Akirari nodded and did as she suggested, the former took a seat on his haunches and the latter did the same next to Jeanne. _Now, we may begin._ Jeanne cleared her throat, as unnecessary as it was since she was speaking mentally, and looked evenly at the Lord Fenrir. _Lord Fenrir,_ she then looked at Aurora, _and Lady Akirari, the two of you are going to train two newcomers to my Knights, should you accept, of course._

 _That is all?_ Aurora asked, thinking that the job was relatively simple. Jeanne shook her head.

 _You two know that with training to become a Knight, comes extra work for both the two of you and the newcomers. No, you are also going to attend their first quest afterwards._ Jeanne studied their expressions, Lord Fenrir was expressionless as usual and Aurora was frowning in thought. _I thought about giving them the usual first quest for Knights in training, to go back in time with the help of Lord Dialga to help a Chosen One with his trials. But after having some thoughts, I think what I have in mind for them would be fitting._

 _May I ask, what?_ The Fenrir said, Aurora nodding her agreement as she, too, wanted to know. Jeanne looked at the two of them before answering the question.

 _They are to go back in time, not to help a Chosen One, but to kill a god._ At Aurora's startled expression, and the Fenrir's inquisitive raising of an eyeridge, Jeanne continued before either of the two could question her. _Long before humans and Pokemons coexisted as they do now, before Trainers and the Originals emerging, there used to be just Praea and Traich, Kanto and Johto today. Humans lived in towns or villages, hunting pokemon for food or domesticating them to be pets and that's it. There were no battles between one pokemon and their trainer with another, and there were no intimate relationships between the two species either. It was much like how the world used to be with just the Originals and humans._

 _Praea and Traichea each worshipped a god, though no one back then knew that their gods were one and the same. Praea's views of the god was militaristic. With that, they believed themselves to be superior to those of Traichea and the two regions had been in conflict with each other with Praea being the dominant side. Traichea saw the god as benevolent and life-giving, the Traich were the main ones who provided food and such for both sides._ Jeanne became solemn. _They were both wrong._ Aurora frowned at her tone and with her peripherals, tried to see if she could gauge the Fenrir's expression.

She couldn't.

 _The god, he was Bjor. Bjor was a ruthless, manipulative god whose only goal was to take the world for himself. And he very nearly did so, he had much power._ Jeanne continued.

 _And how did he get the power?_ Aurora asked. Before Jeanne could answer, the Fenrir beat her to it.

 _Bjor must have gotten power from his followers, meaning that he had been gaining power from both Praea and Traicha. The more worshippers who prayed to him and gave offerings, with whatever abilities the worshippers believed him to have, the more power he had._

 _Exactly that, Lord Fenrir._ Jeanne said with a nod, Aurora nodding as well and deciding to allow Jeanne to continue. _With that said, he was taken down by two "transcenders of time". There were those who were not part of either region and saw through Bjor's facade, and their Seers came up with an accurate prophecy involving two individuals who are out of their time. These two individuals would go to each region and destroy all the major shrines dedicated to Bjor before defeating Bjor himself in his realm._ Jeanne then tapped a hoof on the ground. _Now, before you question me and the consequences about affecting events of the past, know that this has already happened. The thing you need to know is that should you two accept this quest and accompany the two newcomers, any paradox would be avoided due to a special limiter I had Lord Dialga construct. Also, you may think that because this has already happened, there is a guarantee that you four would succeed._

 _There isn't?_ Aurora asked.

 _There is not, correct. With that limiter, it is entirely possible for the four of you to fail and this timeline to be destroyed._ With Jeanne's explanation, it was suddenly hard to say anything else. _Do not fret though. Should you fail, all of us would live on in the other timelines. No pressure._ Jeanne laughed softly to herself, hoping that the atmosphere would lighten. _Of course, you two do not have to accept this quest. I just find you two to be perfect candidates._

 _I'll accept._ Jeanne and Aurora snapped their attention to the only other occupant of the room. The Fenrir did not look at all perturbed by Jeanne's explanation. Aurora nearly gaped at his near-instantaneous acceptance. _It is as you said, we will live on in our other timelines should we fail. Also, I am confident that we will be successful._

 _Thank you for accepting, Lord Fenrir._ Jeanne said with a smile bow of the head and a warm smile.

 _I would not have denied your request anyway, I am indebted to you, after all._ Jeanne only smiled wider, not noticing Aurora's expression of confusion. The Fenrir then looked over at Aurora. _Do you accept as well?_

Aurora looked between the two of them and sighed, giving a small smile after focusing attention on Jeanne.

…

 _A month later..._

It was now later on in the morning. Aurora made yet, another trip down the hallways down the Hall of Origins. She was heading to the conference room, a large circular room that usually held events such as the choosing of new Chosen Ones, introducing a new Legendary, or discussing the matters of the world. Aurora was to go there to greet the newcomers and introduce them to the training as Knights of Arceus. _Today is going to be a busy day, I just know it._ Aurora thought as she shook her head, a small smirk making its way on her face.

After greeting several Legendaries in her trek to the conference room, Aurora nearly tripped as a black portal suddenly occupied the space before her. _Good morning, Lord Fenrir._ Aurora said with the best smile she could muster. The Fenrir looked at her and bowed his head.

 _Lady Akirari._ he greeted before raising his head. _Good morning to you as well._ The two figuring that they were headed to the same place, they decided to walk together to the conference room.

 _So_...Aurora started, trying to make conversation. The Fenrir barely spared her a glance. _What do you think of everything here?_

 _May I ask what you mean?_ Aurora immediately realized with an inward growl that he looked and sounded completely disinterested. She knew that he wasn't the social type, but he could at least _try_ to humor her! She'd even be satisfied with him _pretending_ to act interested in humoring her in a conversation.

 _I mean, you recently joined our ranks._ Aurora answered, calming herself. _So do you have any thoughts about how things are or how things work? Or about the quest we accepted?_ Aurora smiled. There, she had given him enough to answer with! Surely, he wouldn't be able to brush off her question with a simple first-degree answer!

 _I do._

…

 _Wait, is that it?_ Aurora thought as she looked at him… _.Is that your answer?_

 _It is. You asked me whether or not I have any thoughts on the matter of things here, as well as the quest we've been given, and I do._

... Aurora simply looked ahead at his answer. She was ultimately trying not to yell at him. Was he dense?! He had literally took her answer...well, literally! Aurora knew that he knew what exactly she was talking about, and the fact that he answered her in such a way was...It was..Oh, how _angry_ it was making her!

 _...Lord Fenrir, would you mind sharing your thoughts?_ she asked.

 _I would rather not, Lady Akirari. I like to keep to myself, my thoughts and opinions are included._ Aurora's anger lowered a bit as the realization dawned on her. It was not as if he was playing ignorant with her, or trying to demean her in any way, he was just being himself. He didn't like to talk, he didn't like to share his thoughts or opinions, and he mostly kept to himself.

In other words, he was _really_ antisocial, and for all she knew, he didn't give a single damn about her.

Sighing, Aurora decided to take lead. _Well, when I first joined, I felt really..nervous._ She looked at him, only seeing him give her a subtle nod to let her know he was paying attention. _For one, most of the Legendaries here are elders. They've been here for longer than I've been alive. I didn't know what they thought of me, only what they expected of me, being what I am._ She indicated her general area with a wing. _I only felt confident about my position only after the elders, and even Lady Arceus, asked me for my take of things on this one situation during a meeting about a month after I joined. And you know, they wouldn't ask for advice from someone incompetent, so when I realized that, I've been feeling better for the past few years I've been here._

She waited to see if he had a reply, sighing quietly when he didn't. She was about to suggest hurrying to meet the two newcomers before stopping herself, noticing that her fellow Legendary beside her nodded.

 _It is understandable, how you felt when you had first joined. You were joining the Legendaries, a circle of prestigious beings who have more wisdom and perhaps power than you, a group where the slightest mistake or misjudgement may cost you dearly and earn you ridicule in the eyes of others. Most would, of course, balk given the circumstances. But, it is admirable and impressive that you have earned a place among the elders of the Legendaries after just a month. From what I know about them, it is challenging to do what you have done. I would be willing to wager that very few have done what you have._

With that, Aurora was left completely speechless. _...Maybe working with him wouldn't be so difficult after all._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Here's another chapter, guys. Letting you all know now, the one chapter once a week routine will stay as it is, though not so sure for when school's back in next month. Either way, we'll be starting later chapters early after finishing instead of taking a break like usual so it'll be easier to stay on routine.**_

 _ **Was last chapter okay? Any questions or..? By the way, there's an open spot (or two) for another OC. If you'd like for your own character to be in the story, just send their description and all that in a review or pm. We will only accept one or two, and they can either be part of the main company or a villain, your pick and we'll do our best to work your character into everything.**_

 _ **Fanfic of the week spotlight goes to:**_

" _ **Tearing the Heavens" by Cepel. It's a pokemon fanfic in progress with 64 chapters so far and about 500,000 words, rated M. It's a perfect mix of comedy, action, and angst. It has a low update rate, but the re-readability makes up for it more than enough.**_

 _ **No shoutouts this time, and see if you guys can catch the couple of jokes we put in there and references. Read, enjoy, and review (if you'd like).**_

"Speech"-Verbal Speech

 _Speech_ -Mental thoughts/Conversations/Sarcasm, emphasis

" _Speech"_ -Verbal Speech from flashbacks

 _ **Speech**_ -Mental thoughts or conversations in flashbacks/Otherworldly Speech

 **Speech** -Attacks (moves)

 **Chapter 3: Settling**

 _ **With Hugh…**_

Hugh had always thought that the Hall of Origins would be a place of neverending golden light and housing a plethora of pokemon, both non-Legendary and Legendary, as well as being a home for all those who had passed away. He had been trying to get an idea of this place ever since Jeanne offered them their new occupation. But standing there now in the Hall of Origins, all of Hugh's ideas were absolutely crushed.

Because he did _not_ expect the Hall of Origins to be like _this._

When Jeanne had first teleported them there to the entrance of the Hall of Origins, Hugh was absolutely baffled. As the Arceus led them on something like a tour, he had seen pillars and other structures of beautiful make. It had been quite quiet actually, contradicting his idea of the place being bustling with pokemon and spirits. And speaking of, he had not seen a spirit yet so perhaps, he was wrong on that idea as well.

Along with the architecture of the Hall of Origins, Hugh was amazed at the sight of the first Legendary he had ever seen in his life. He had seen Lady Lugia, a Legendary native to the Johto region. Hugh knew she was of grand size, but she was _huge_...not to call her fat. Hugh had made the right decision not to voice his observation because otherwise, he knew that he would have irked the Legendary and he would rather not have flood his home.

And he had not known that such a place could have so many rooms! Jeanne had shown them many chambers and passageways, Hugh could not even remember them now! The Hall of Origins might as well had been a maze, for Hugh knew that he would need some help navigating the place. Hugh also noticed that the Legendaries there and their rooms was similar to that of students in college or universities. Not ever Legendary resided in the chambers made for them, about half of the total Legendaries preferred staying in their native regions. Hugh had thought that it was strange yet thrilling at the comparison he made.

So, in all, Hugh was just extremely amazed. Scared of the Legendaries that were there, but amazed.

He and Roxanne were standing in the middle of a large circular room. Two large podiums stood in the front of the room while smaller podiums that varied in height dotted the rest of the circular path near the edges of the room. They had been standing there for several minutes now, waiting for Jeanne to come back from whatever she needed to do. Deciding to break the silence, Hugh tapped Roxanne's shoulder.

"This place is something else, isn't it?" he asked her.

"Something else entirely on a whole different level of something." was her reply. Hugh nodded, he had seen her trying to keep her excitement in when they had first arrived. But her eyes had betrayed her as Jeanne showed them the wonders of the place. "How are you holding up? Ready for that training?"

"I'm fine, I guess." Hugh made a 'give or take' gesture with a hand. "And to be honest, how can you be ready for training? We're going to be Knights of Arceus, Roxanne!"

"I know!" his friend replied. She, too, shared the same tone of excitement that he had. She then paused, as if finally realizing something. Roxanne gave Hugh an expression of questioning. "Hey, has Lady Arceus told you what you'd get in the end of all this?"

It was Hugh's turn to form that expression of hers. He did not really have an idea as to what she was talking about. So, he craned his head and scratched the back of his head as he adjusted his glasses. "What do you mean?" Roxanne seemed to be choosing her next words carefully.

"I mean, she told me that I'd regain something that is lost to me. Something like that. Has she said anything similar to you?" Hugh understood now, and mouthed 'Oh' in understanding.

 _Oh, so that's what she's talking about._ Hugh remembered when Jeanne told Roxanne that she'd recover something lost to her in that conversation they had about a month ago. He wondered what was that something, and when he asked Roxanne if she knew or at least had an idea, he found that she was somewhat at a loss herself. "I don't think so." Hugh could not recall Jeanne saying anything like that to him. Perhaps she would tell him when they started training? Either way, he agreed to training to be a Knight as did Roxanne, regaining something lost to him or not.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Maybe, she'd tell me later." With that, Roxanne nodded and the two continued waiting once more. They did not have to wait for long though, as Jeanne suddenly stepped into the room. She greeted the two with a nod of her head and took her place behind one of the two large podiums in the front of the room.

 _I apologize for the wait, you two._ she said. The two humans told her not to worry and she nodded gratefully. _As for your trainers, they should be here soon. When they arrive, we can get started on discussing your training._ She then smiled. _I can feel your excitement, you two._

"I think anyone would be excited at this opportunity." Hugh explained as Roxanne simple nodded in agreement. Jeanne chuckled.

 _Perhaps. There are actually a number of my Knights who were afraid and nervous when I had first recruited them._ The Arceus raised her chin in thought. _Quite a few ended up dropping from their training and decided to go back to living their usual lives, with their memories of their training and this place erased._

"So that will happen to us if we decide to drop out?" Jeanne nodded. "What if we don't actually do well in the training? Is there some sort of test to pass?"

 _You two will do well, I'm certain that you will be trained excellently._ Jeanne replied. _And perhaps, brutally if he doesn't decide to go easy._ she thought to herself, not allowing that thought slip to the newcomers. _And yes, there is a test in the end of your training. Should you pass, you will become legitimate Knights in my name. If not-._ Jeanne paused as she turned her head. _Ah, they are here._

Hugh turned to see two Legendaries make their way into the room. He and Roxanne almost gasped at the two, for they had no idea who the two were. With the other Legendaries, they had heard descriptions and legends of them, they knew of their general abilities and such. But with these two, Hugh and Roxanne had _never_ heard of two wolf Legendaries.

One had black fur and horns, fire was trailing along all of its tribal markings and wings. The other had mostly white fur with wings and occasionally pulsed with blue. The former emitted dark wispy tendrils with every step he took. The latter emitted frost. _They are complete opposites, aren't they?_ Hugh thought.

Hugh suddenly had the urge to pull out his pokedex, but he quickly discarded the idea as he remembered that he was no longer a Trainer and that the pokedex was in storage. Plus, he felt like pulling out his pokedex to scan the Legendaries might be a bit disrespectful.

 _These two will be your instructors._ Jeanne announced as the two wolf Legendaries sat on their haunches before them. She gestured with a hoof for the two Legendaries to introduce themselves. The white furred one went first.

 _A pleasure to meet you two. I go by Lady Akirari here, but you may call me Aurora when we are off business._ Jeanne smiled at Aurora's introduction, the latter never really cared for formality, especially when it came to those similar to her own age. If Jeanne recalled correctly, they were all of the same age save for the Fenrir who was about a year older than them. The two Legendaries were a bit young to be in their positions, though it mattered little. After all, one may look at Phione or Shaymin for those two are even _younger._ Also, Jeanne thought for a moment, there was Mew and despite being older than every other Legendary, she still acted...juvenile.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Akirari." Roxanne replied to Aurora as she bowed, Hugh bowed as well. Roxanne and Hugh then turned to the other Legendary who bowed his head to the humans.

 _It is a pleasure to meet and train the next two Knights of Lady Arceus, I go by Lord Fenrir._

 _But, if he allows it, you may call him Alpha off business._ Jeanne added. The Fenrir nodded to her statement, but Aurora raised an eyeridge. Hugh noticed her confusion and got the idea that 'Alpha' may not had been his actual name.

"Thank you for agreeing to train us." Hugh said when he felt like no one else was going to speak at that point. "My name is Hugh, I'm 17 and I used to be a Trainer with 6 badges under my belt." _Roxanne's turn._

"And I'm Roxanne." Roxanne said as she eyed the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. And Hugh could tell why, for Lord Fenrir, or Alpha, was giving them the coldest stare he had ever seen. "I'm 17 too and I did not have an occupation before today, I accompanied Hugh on his Trainer journey and took on odd jobs in order to pay for our expenses." Hugh shivered, he was glad that Alpha was farther from him than he was to Roxanne.

…

 _ **With Ryker...**_

Ryker surmised that the two had enough will to make it through their training. Hugh was primed to hit the peak of male fitness, and he had much confidence as well. could not sense any arrogance or ignorance from him, and he could tell that Hugh could make quick calm and efficient calls in times of stress. Training would do well for him.

As for Roxanne, Ryker thought it was strange. She was faintly familiar, though he could not recall anything involving her. Thinking back to previous years, he could not remember anything before the day Jeanne took him in. All he knew was that something happened to him and it was enough to cause Jeanne to find him in the way she had. She had found him very injured and with a major concussion. When Jeanne evaluated his apparent amnesia and offered to mend his memories back together...For some inexplicable reason, he declined her offer for he knew that it would only cause him great pain.

And that left him with the knowledge that his family was gone, and that he could not trust most anyone.

Roxanne was slender and was in healthy physical condition as well. Judging from a few scars he spotted on her and the slight muscle build she had, he could tell that she wasn't one to sit back and wait for something to happen. She'd do well in the training as well, and despite her current anxiety (where did that come from all of a sudden?), he saw that she had determination that rivaled most.

 _Your training will start tomorrow._ Jeanne told Hugh and Roxanne. Ryker noticed the subtle shift in their moods, the way both humans raised their shoulders ever so slightly at Jeanne's statement and how Roxanne gulped. _But for today, you four will be getting to know each other and settling down to your temporary housing for the duration of your training._ At this, their surroundings changed as Jeanne teleported them.

Ryker took a brief scan of their surroundings, finding it to be satisfactory for the purpose of training. There was a single house before them, two stories tall and in great condition. They were on flat ground and a forest circled the area from about ten meters in radius. There was a single hill, or rather, a cliff. Presumably, from what Ryker could hear in that direction, it dropped off to a river. There was definitely a waterfall nearby, Ryker could hear the crashing water clearly. The Fenrir also realized that there were no other humans in the area, the updraft that he had just caught held no human scent other than Hugh and Roxanne's.

 _You all will be staying here._ Jeanne continued as she turned her head to the two Legendaries. _Lord Fenrir, Lady Akirari, you two may return to the Hall of Origins whenever you'd like at the times where you're not actively training these two. Of course, know that there is no set time as to when these two need to complete their training._ The Arceus then smiled, a twinkle in her eye. _Although, I'd rather not wait for too long to give them their tests._ Aurora smiled at her lightheartedness as Ryker nodded.

 _Good, we can take as long as we'd like then. If there's no rush, then the end results of their training would be of a higher quality. After all..._ Ryker returned his gaze to Hugh and Roxanne _...Slow and steady wins the race. Then again,_ Ryker briefly glanced at Aurora, knowing that she possessed invaluable skills as well, _so does swiftness and precision._

 _Is there anything else we need to know, Lady Arceus?_ Aurora asked. Jeanne shook her head.

 _That is all for now. Roxanne, Hugh..._ Said two humans straightened at their names being called. Jeanne chuckled again. _I know you won't disappoint when all this is said and done._ With that, she left them, most likely to the Hall of Origins.

 _Alright then!_ Aurora said cheerily, gaining their attention. As she did this, Ryker continued to plan.

 _We'll target their weaknesses and strengthen them. Ideally, those weaknesses will be covered by the end of training._ Ryker blinked as Aurora began laying down the rules, her cheerful tone from just moments before becoming stern.

 _You two will obey every command we give you for the duration of the training you're receiving, even if they seem unorthodox. Complaining and back-talk will not be tolerated…_

 _But first,_ Ryker continued to think, _we'll have to evaluate their combat prowess. From there, close-quarters-combat then ranged training, getting rid of any weaknesses all the while, and finally, we'll evaluate which type of weapon would suit them most once they get past the first half of training._

 _First quarter of training will be hand-to hand combat, second quarter will be ranged. Ranged combat will vary depending on what type of magic they have affinity for, and if they do better than expected, integration of magic to hand-to-hand combat will be covered. Should they have a high affinity towards psychic capabilities, mental combat will be covered in the second quarter as well. Telepathy will be easiest for them to learn first._

 _Third quarter of training will involve weapons training. Weapons training will vary depending on their type, as well as their area of effectiveness. The third quarter of training will also involve integration of magic and such to the weapons._

 _The fourth quarter will be an evaluation of sorts of what they have learned and achieved so far. They will spar with me and Lady Akirari every day from that point on until we both feel that they have finished their training._ Ryker nodded to himself, satisfying with his condensed rundown of what the four of them would be doing for training. He then realized that Aurora was finished talking and returned his attention to the other three. It wasn't as if he had ignored them. He had heard every word, actually. He was just adept at multitasking and whatever opportunity he'd fine, he'd take it.

And it doesn't hurt to plan ahead.

Ryker briefly brushed his consciousness against Aurora's, the latter allowing him to share their mental plains. In that moment, Ryker shared his plans for the two trainees and just as quickly withdrew to his own mind. Aurora subtly nodded her agreement. _With all that said,_ Aurora told them, _let's explore the house and see who will be taking which room._

 _I will not be taking a room, I will sleep out here._ The three looked at Ryker in surprise at his statement. _I'd rather be on my own outside of training._ Ryker preferred sleeping outside, he didn't feel as enclosed. The only exception was his chambers back in the Hall of Origins and even then, he still prefered to be out and about.

Aurora was about to disagree with the thought of the three of them taking the house and him sleeping outside, but then thought better of it. _Well, in that case, let's just show them the forms we'll be using to train them now instead of later._ she suggested. Ryker nodded, and the two turned to face the confused Roxanne and Hugh. One moment, they were large canine Legendaries. The next moment, they were anthropomorphic Legendaries.

Standing on two legs now, Aurora had adopted an anatomical structure similar to that of a human's. However, she still retained her canine qualities such as her muzzle. The only difference in anatomical structure really, was the fact that she stood on two legs instead of four. Her legs had shifted in length and structure to accommodate the form. Her fur was shorter than it was in her true form, and she also had white hair that reached her waist. Her wings looked slightly smaller than they were before as well. And overall, she was very fit as evidenced by the fair amount of muscle on her arms and legs though not enough to take away any of her femininity. As for clothing, Aurora wore a casual white t-shirt and form-fitting jeans, along with blue sneakers. And in height, she was about the same height as Roxanne.

Ryker, like Aurora, stood on two legs and retained most of his canine qualities. Well muscled and lean, the skulls that had been on his shoulders were gone. The blades that had been on his back were gone as well. His body was currently structured the same way as Aurora's, as they were both in their anthropomorphic forms, and he had short spiky black hair that didn't seem to part much around his horns. His wings tucked in through slits in the back of his gray collared shirt, Ryker also had black slacks donned. His sleeves were rolled up about halfway to allow his elbow spikes to have room. He also wore a watch on his right hand.

Aurora raised an eyebrow at Ryker's choice of clothing, as did Hugh and Roxanne, and the Fenrir only checked his watch. "I have a meeting to attend in Kanto later on today." he explained.

"Obviously," Aurora said as she faced Hugh and Roxanne again, "what you're seeing is us in our anthro forms. We'll be training you in these forms to make things much easier as opposed to training you on four legs. You'll probably see us in these forms often for the rest of our time together." She then turned around. "Right then, the house."

They all went into the house, the door already had its key in the keyhole so it was no trouble getting in. They were first met with the living room, it was moderately large. Several steps ahead and a turn to the right was the kitchen, and on the left was a screen door that led to outside. There were two bathrooms on the first floor. Upstairs, which was accessed through the stairs in the living room upon walking inside, one could either turn left or right at the top of the stairs. Turning left led to a medium-sized room, and continuing further down led to a larger room with a balcony as well as a bathroom with a closet next to the sink. Turning right at the top of the stairs led to a small room with a closet and further down, was another large room with two windows. Another bathroom was located in the middle of the split at the top of the stairs.

Each room had a fairly large bed and desk, as well as a ceiling fan and at least one closet. After randomly choosing, Aurora had the room with the two windows, Hugh had the room with the balcony and bathroom, and Roxanne decided to go with the living room as it had a futon along with a couple of couches.

And she loved futons as they were a couch and bed in one.

"Well, we have the rest of the day to do whatever we'd like." Aurora said as they gathered in the living room. "There's fresh food in the kitchen if anyone's hungry and.." She looked at the wall ahead of her, eyeing the very large flatscreen. "...we have that. Hopefully, with a lot of channels." she added with a laugh, Roxanne and Hugh joined in as well.

Ryker produced a book from seemingly nowhere, reading it intently. The others noticed that the cover was blank, as was the back of the book. Ryker paid them no mind, deciding to simply spend some time reading an interesting book for a bit since they had nothing to do for the rest of the day. He would train and go on a run later though, as he usually did three times a day.

…

 _ **With Roxanne…**_

Roxanne wondered what book he was reading, her curiosity had risen even further when she realized that the cover and back of the book was blank. "Hey, Alpha?" she asked after she gathered her courage and steeled herself not to avert her eyes when he looked at her with those cold eyes. Alpha lowered the book and acknowledged her with a dip of the head. "What book are you reading?"

"It is a book of my homeland, or so Lady Arceus says it is. You would most likely not recognize the author or its contents if I tell you." Roxanne noted his withdrawn expression as he finished his statement, as if he was suddenly in deep thought about the subject.

"I see." _Well, there goes that attempt at starting a conversation with him._ "Hey, are you guys hungry? I can cook us up some breakfast." Roxanne had seen the food and ingredients in their inventory, she was confident that she could make something delicious to eat.

"I am, haven't eaten since I woke up. They are probably hungry too, actually."

"I'm not hungry yet," Aurora answered, "but I'll eat later with whatever food is leftover." Roxanne nodded as Hugh pulled out two pokeballs from his pack. Jeanne only allowed him to bring two from his team with him, as the training was specifically for Hugh and Roxanne only. The rest of Hugh's team were at his parents'. With a flash, Oculus and an Alakazam appeared in the living room.

"You do not need to cook for me." Alpha said before returning to read his book.

After two more introductions went underway and Roxanne went to the kitchen to cook, Hugh pulled his two partners to the side and made sure his translator was on. Of course, he wouldn't have needed it if Oculus had the ability to shift into an anthro form as it allowed verbal speech, and the Alakazam could simply talk through telepathy. Roxanne could hear them talk from the kitchen as they were not far from her position at all.

"You two think we can perfect it today?" Hugh asked them. It was Oculus who answered next. Roxanne smiled, Oculus had been Hugh's friend since they were children and yet, the Noctowl never seemed to get tired or had any problems with them. He was part of the family as well. As for the Alakazam, Roxanne didn't know much about him save the fact that he was second-in-command when it came to Hugh's team.

"I think we can do it." Oculus answered, and a moment of silence let Roxanne know that Alakazam had told Hugh his answer mentally as usual.

"Great, why not we try it then? Now is as good a time as any." She knew of the technique they were trying to perfect. It involved the Alakazam linking all three of their minds together and Hugh seeing through Oculus's eyes. They had been trying to perfect the technique, Vision Revision, or VR as they called it for short. In all their past attempts, they had failed the process at the point of linking Hugh and Oculus's mind and feeding the latter's view to the former while sustaining the connection. Currently, Roxanne could hear Hugh explain the very same process of VR to Aurora and Alpha.

Roxanne placed a pot of water on the heat coil, turning the coil on and reaching for the bag of spaghetti. Opening the bag, she placed the stiff straws into the pot and pulled out a bottle of marinara sauce. She placed it on the counter and proceeded to pull out some ground beef, parsley, garlic powder, an egg, and a black pepper. With the ingredients at hand, she began to make the meatballs for the spaghetti.

"It's working!" came the excited shout from Hugh.

"That's great, Hugh!" Roxanne congratulated from her spot. She could hear Aurora congratulating her friend as well and a happy hoot from Oculus. As she prepared their breakfast, Roxanne wondered about their upcoming training. She knew that it would be grueling, and brutal, maybe, since they were going to be trained by Legendaries, though she was more anxious about whether or not she could last all the way through.

 _At least Hugh will be training with me._ she thought.

After she finished making the meatballs and started the process of cooking them, as well as preparing the marinara sauce, she checked the spaghetti straws and calculated that it would still be a while before they soften enough. So, she set a timer to however long she thought it would take for the spaghetti straws to soften before leaving the kitchen while the food prepared.

She ended up standing in awe as Hugh waved at her. The thing was, he wasn't _facing_ her direction and there was a dim purple glow emitting from what she assumed to be his eyes as both Alakazam and Oculus's eyes were glowing purple as well. Hugh turned around, confirming that his eyes were indeed glowing purple, before Oculus flew past her and settled on the kitchen counter. "I can see through Oculus's eyes now." He then smiled wider. "Ooh, making spaghetti?" Roxanne smirked.

"Yep. Aurora, I hope you like pasta." Aurora smiled from her spot on one of the couches, nodding.

"Spaghetti is one of my favorite foods." Aurora then pointed a remote at the tv and turned it on, it was already tuned to the Johto news channel. "I wonder if things are alright here in Johto. If not, I'll have to make a report to Jeanne…" she muttered.

"Alright, Rift, you can cut the connection now." Hugh told the Alakazam. The latter nodded as Oculus returned to the living room, perching on Hugh's shoulder. "Well, looks like the last couple of months practicing that paid off." Aurora raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at her lips.

"If you can spend a couple of months practicing that and perfecting it, training shouldn't be that bad then." Hugh laughed as Roxanne took a seat next to Alpha on the other couch seeing as the couch Hugh and Aurora were on had no room left for her. "Before I forget, since you two basically gave us a general outlook on yourselves, I feel like it'd be right to reciprocate." Aurora looked over at Alpha, and Roxanne _barely_ noticed him subtly twitching his forefinger/claw in distaste of the idea before covering up the action by turning the page in the book. "Up for it, Alpha?"

Roxanne blinked, the Fenrir had just snarled incredibly quickly and quietly but his expression returned to neutral immediately afterwards..She wasn't sure if she had just imagined seeing it. She watched him set down his book and nod to Aurora. "I suppose it's reasonable. Would you like to start first or should I?"

"I'll go first." Aurora said with a nonchalant shrug. The three of them focused on her, Roxanne especially. She wanted to know of Aurora's origins, as well as Alpha's. She also wondered if the two were related somehow, or if their species were literally to be opposites of each other. "As you know, my name is Aurora and I am an Akirari, a being of Light." She paused. "Do either of you know what Suicune are?" Roxanne nodded, knowing what Suicune generally were due to Hugh surfing through the pokedex at one point in their journey around Johto. "Before I 'evolved' into how I am now, I used to be a Suicune. An Islingr Suicune, in fact. I was born with Light infused with my abilities, I looked different from other Suicune in terms of color and-" She pointed to her two limbs on her back. "-I had wings, still do, obviously."

"Why did you say 'evolved' like... _evolved_?" Hugh asked.

"Suicune do not evolve, but my case was different. Again, it's the Light in me. My ability is ultra rare, a 1 in 100 chance. As an Islingr Suicune, when I finally pushed through my limits and fully mastered my abilities, I 'evolved' into what you're seeing now." Hugh nodded, as did Roxanne. "Anyway, I spent a few years of my life working my way up in the ranks of the Legendaries and eventually became part of the Council."

"Aren't all Legendaries part of the Council?" Roxanne asked, she had heard the capital C. Aurora shook her head.

"There are the Legendaries the humans classify, which is basically everyone you see in the Hall of Origins, and then there is the Council. Those of the Council, including myself, have more jurisdiction and influence when it comes to regulating the other Legendaries, and we each have a say when it comes to a new change and such to the world here." Roxanne nodded, she supposed that made sense. "Where was I...Oh, right. So after becoming part of the Council, I've been spending the past few years overseeing the other Suicune here in Johto as well as the other regions, doing quests for Lord or Lady Arceus, as well as taking part of Council meetings. When I'm off duty, I usually come home to Cerulean Falls to relax as much as I can before I'm on active duty again."

"Sounds really tough, being part of the Council." Oculus stated, hooting as well. Aurora shrugged.

"It is at times, but I always feel really satisfied after the day is done. It's worth it, really, to me. My parents were part of the Council, I can't help but to feel proud that I am now part of it too." She then leaned back on the couch, waving a hand for Alpha to give his take. Roxanne wanted to raise an eyebrow, she was actually a little skeptical that he'd actually do it.

 _I wonder if he'll just give us a single sentence that would just sum up everything._ she thought with a smirk.

"Of course, my name is Alpha and I am a Fenrir, I have complete manipulation of Fire and the Void." Roxanne thought that he must had seen their expressions of confusion, for he elaborated on the latter element. "Void is the ability to nullify or destroy, I apply it through using Darkness. Of my species, I am the only one left with mastery over it. As a result, I can effectively obliterate whatever I deem deserving of it." Their silent questions satisfied for now, he continued. "My species is not native to any of the regions, so you will not find another like me anytime soon. Before I became a Legendary, I was in a state of wandering. Lost. Lady Arceus found me and took me in and for several years, I've been serving under her. I became a Legendary only a few months ago. Since then, I've been performing...wetwork jobs for both Lord and Lady Arceus, targeting individuals or groups who are a threat."

At his last statement, the other four save Rift, went rigid. Roxanne felt her blood run cold at the thought of Alpha's claws around her neck...his bloody jaws clamping down to rip her jugu-.

"You need not to worry about such a thing occurring to you." Alpha stated, he had predicted their reactions. "I only target those assigned to me, and those I deem a threat. You three are not a threat." With that out of the way, and with them more or less relieved, he continued. "Aside from those types of jobs, I also take quests for them."

"So you're a murderer then?" Roxanne blurted out. The room went silent, and Roxanne realized what she had said. She looked at Alpha, she didn't mean to say that out loud. Alpha only glanced at her, he didn't seem like he was offended.

"Call it what you will, killing is killing. I do not kill without a purpose, and I will kill if I have to when it comes to defending myself." was his answer, and they left it at that. She noticed Hugh looking between the two of them, noticing how awkward the atmosphere suddenly became. Even Oculus thought it was, and decided to take flight outside. Rift simply meditated as usual, his eyes closed and facing no one in particular.

"Uh, so would you two mind demonstrating your powers?" Hugh asked. Aurora immediately nodded her head, raising both of her hands. In one hand, a ball of Light materialized. In the other, a large ball of water formed.

"Water and Light have many applications." Aurora explained as the ball of water suddenly froze into a shard of ice. It then melted and boiled, turning into steam. Finally, the steam collected at her palm and before their very eyes, became a ball of water again through condensation. She then raised the ball of Light. It brightened, then dimmed. It then altered their view of colors, catching Hugh and Roxanne by surprise. To top it off, after Aurora reverted their vision back to normal, she suddenly shimmered out of sight. "Water can be manipulated in a variety of ways." They heard her voice bounce off the walls. "Light is a little more fun to work with. As you saw earlier, I can bend light a little differently to change your perspective of colors. Right now, I bent light to turn myself invisible."

She reappeared behind the two couches, giggling at the two humans' shocked expressions. "Say, would you be able to teach us how to do that?" Hugh asked. Aurora stopped mid-stride.

"Actually, that would depend on your aptitudes for the elements which we'll test you on in the second quarter of training as Knights."

"You mean we have a chance to use any element? Whichever element we'd like?" Roxanne asked this time. She wanted to learn how to turn invisible and thanks to a book of fiction she had read in the past, and her experiences with Hugh on his Trainer's journey, maybe Darkness...

Roxanne had seen many Dark-type pokemon in her life, and she really liked the possibilities of utilizing their abilities. She hoped that when their testing came, she'd be able to qualify for it. "No, not any element." Roxanne deflated at the thought of not being able to choose an element as will. "Again, it depends on your aptitudes for it. Us Legendaries have a way of telling which element/typing you're compatible with. If you end up with Ghost-typing and wanted Electric, we can't do anything about it."

"But it's possible, right? If we have the aptitude for it, we can learn how to manipulate Light like you can? And is that even a typing?" Aurora frowned.

"Most likely not, actually. Light is not a typing per se, it is an innate ability born in certain, random individuals. Sorry, you two," The two humans didn't really seem to down about it. Roxanne herself didn't mind at all, though she was wondering about Alpha's Void. She looked over at him, and the Fenrir knew of her intention to ask before she even voiced her question. He, like Aurora, raised his hands.

In one hand was a ball of flame, a _black_ one to be precise. _Maybe it's a byproduct of him knowing Void?_ Roxanne thought. In his other hand, a small wispy ball of what she assumed to be Void/Darkness formed. "You can certainly learn how to manipulate Fire, should you have high aptitudes for it, though, like Light, you will most likely not be able to learn and master the Void. Darkness, yes, but not Void."

 _Well, at least I still have the chance to go with Dark-typing._ Roxanne thought. At that moment, a timer went off. It took a few moments, but Roxanne realized that it was the spaghetti and all but sprinted to the kitchen from her seat. "Spaghetti should be done shortly, guys! Just got to mix the sauce, meatballs, and spaghetti straws together and we can eat."

…

Roxanne sipped from her glass of juice, she had finished her food first. Aurora and Hugh were still eating and conversing in the kitchen, and Alpha had left for a run. Oculus was still out flying, she guessed, and Rift was still meditating (or sleeping?) in the corner of the room. _I'm kind of bored..._ she thought as she turned on the TV, wincing. _I'll probably eat those words tomorrow when training starts._ "Let's see what's on right now.."

" _-igimon are the Champions! Chaaange into Digital Champions tooo save the Digital-!"_ This show is still going on? Roxanne nodded her head as Hugh sat next to her, Aurora walked over from the kitchen and sat on the other couch. "Kinda seems silly to me."

"How?" the Akirari asked. Hugh shrugged, and Roxanne saw him raise his arms and stretch out of the corner of her eye.

"Just the concept. You fall into a digital world, find digital monsters, befriend them, battle other digital monsters, and 'digivolve' if your partner needs a power boost with a digivice thing." At that moment, they all shivered for split second though none of them registered that they did. It's like a constant cycle, and with this show, you literal hear the opening theme like, at least four times, sometimes in succession, in the _same episode_."

"It's a kid show, Hugh." Roxanne shrugged. "Gotta give it some slack." Hugh laughed. "At least it's not another rehash of that one show with the card monsters. They have like what," She began counting off her fingers in thought. "five of them? And they each have so many seasons?"

"True, true." Hugh agreed.

"Or that one series where some of the cars, planes, and all that are actually robots in disguise?" Aurora decided to add, finding some amusement in their conversation. "And in one of those series, they even became robotic dinosaurs?" The three of them laughed together, with Rift remaining silent as usual albeit he may had been sleeping.

"Hold on," Roxanne said, "Aurora, you sound like you watched exactly the same levels of cartoons we did as kids." She was curious. After all, it was not everyday you hear a Legendary talking about cartoons meant for children. Aurora shrugged.

"Before pokemon and humans coexisted like we do now, about ten years ago when I was seven, my parents taught me how to take on a human form so that I could go to school for education since they were always busy with Legendary business." Aurora then tapped a finger against her cheek in thought. "We had to be careful especially so because of our species and we didn't want any humans finding us out. So whenever we weren't home and stayed in our house in Cerulean, we'd stay in our human forms. It was always so boring there so all I had was the TV to watch and a few books every now and then."

 _Right, human and pokemon coexistence didn't come into effect until recently, seven or eight years ago when we figured out that they are just just like us in sentience and intelligence save for a few species. Human/pokemon relationships came two or three years later after we found out that with enough power and guidance, pokemon can adopt anthropomorphic forms along with the sentience and intelligence discovery. Then pokemon rights kicked in soon after and now...we're on equal footing if you exclude feral pokemon._ Roxanne thought.

"Were they weird to you?" Hugh asked.

"Honestly, I thought it was all so cool at first. Television was a new thing to me when we'd first moved into human society. Then, later on, I got used to it...Some shows are weird though, like those survival shows. I used to think 'Why would that guy, a human without any sort of defense except maybe a knife, go up against a Ursaring of all things?' But I eventually just shrugged it off as just another human thing." she said with a smirk.

"Yeah, and whenever I saw a Poochyena take a leak on a tree, I used to think it's just another pokemon thing." Hugh joked back. Aurora rolled her eyes and Roxanne barely hid her smile.

They would all get along well, at least. _Now here's to hoping that they might just go easy on us with the training._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Another chapter! We're sorry if it's a little late, had a bunch of things to deal with here and there. We also got a free upgrade from Windows 9 to 10 last night! The download and installation took hours XD For any Halo fans out there, the upgrade comes with a new digital assistant and her name is-Wait for it….*drumroll*...CORTANA! Still trying the new gizmos out with this upgrade XD And we forgot to ask with last chapter, how was everyone's 4th of July, for those who celebrate it? Good and fun, we hope!**_

 _ **Fanfic of the week spotlight goes to:**_

" _ **Living in the Moment" by FirebirdXoX. It's an old pokemon fanfic with a really well thought out plot that seems to never let go of your attention. Much angst and comfort as well as action in this one, we'd give it a 10/10. It's rated M "for a lot of cussing" and violence.**_

 _ **Shoutout of the week goes to TristanLeo for his review!**_

 _ **Read, enjoy, and review (if you'd like). P.S. The chapter title means more than one thing XD.**_

 **Chapter 4: A Connection**

 _ **With Hugh…**_

Hugh doubled over, hands on his knees and sweat dribbling down his face in rivulets. He had half a mind to shave himself bald at that moment, for the blazing sun was merciless and the close quarters combat training was NOT helping him at all. And they were currently only _warming. up._ "Stretching isn't supposed to be so _hard_." Hugh exclaimed as he wiped the sweat accumulating on his brow. Next to him, Roxanne was in a similar state and was trying to regain her breath; she voiced her own opinions about the extreme warm-up exercises under her breath and hearing them made Hugh wince. Standing before them, Aurora stood panting though smiling. Next to the Akirari was Alpha and he didn't look winded in the slightest. The only thing that gave away the fact that the stretching was effective to him was his slightly quickened breathing. They had all changed into clothes suitable for the training, all of them were in plain t-shirts and sports pants.

"Stretching is important." Alpha told them. "Without the proper stretches, your bodies will be too tense to pull off the maneuvers and techniques we will be going over. Should you skip your warm ups, you would get extreme cramping in various parts of your bodies. Needless to say, we want to avoid that." He then crossed his arms. "The reason why these set of stretches were so extreme for you is probably because of the fact that we kept your heart-rates up the entire time without going easy on your bodies." Hugh nodded. It had been an hour since they started their warm ups. They had only stopped every twenty minutes for a break, with only thirty seconds to prepare for the next interval. Each exercise they had targeted a specific area or two in their bodies and unfortunately (or fortunately?), Hugh was really feeling the effects. Roxanne as well, most likely.

"I have to admit," Aurora stated as she took a deep breath, "I've never had such an intense workout for a warm up, but it'll benefit us greatly in the long run."

"We'll go for a small run in ten minutes, then we'll start on the basics." They looked at the Fenrir. "It should loosen up your muscles, though not so much for them to slacken. Drink as much water as you need."

 _Do you think this is a bit much for them?_ Aurora asked him as she watched Hugh and Roxanne guzzle down their bottles of water. Oculus was still flying laps around the area as Alpha had instructed him to, and Rift was actually trying his best to psychically lift one of his spoons. It would have been trivial, had it not been for the fact that Alpha imbued it with Darkness. The two pokemon wanted to get in on the training somehow, and those two tasks were what they had been given.

 _Possibly._ Alpha answered bluntly. _In a month, they would be used to it. Also, we will be slowly build up the intensity of both the warm ups and the training. They will most likely not notice it, but they will only get stronger and soon, they will be able to do the warm ups on their own time and initiate it themselves without a problem. Without as much fatigue by the end of warm ups as well._

 _Good point. It's only going to benefit them._ Aurora took a swig of her bottle. "So, how long will the run be? A mile? Two?"

"There's no specific distance. We'll run for twenty minutes." He looked at Hugh and Roxanne. "I do not want to set a distance and have you two to feel forced to run the entire distance, or possibly strain yourselves. With the run we are going on, you can go at your own pace without having to stop too much."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Roxanne said as she stood up.

"Not too bad at all." Hugh agreed as he, too, stood up. He was actually feeling some reprieve from the knowledge that they were only going for a quick run. "I was a Trainer after all, so I traveled around frequently. Roxanne was with me, so we both should have some built up stamina. Also," Hugh sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "we ran into quite a few incidents involving Spinarak…" At this, he noticed Roxanne giving him a slight glare. _Oh, here we go._

"We wouldn't have dealt with those Spinarak if you had just remembered the route, you know? Every single time, you led us straight into a Spinarak nest."

"Hey, that route on the map was smudged away from the water _you_ spilled that one day! And it's easy to get lost there!" Hugh retorted. "Besides, it only happened a few times and a bit of running couldn't hurt."

"Poisonous fangs do, I'd bet." Roxanne shot back. "And it wasn't just _a few_ times, we went back through that route every single time you wanted to go to the shrine in Illex."

"And?" Hugh laughed, he knew that she wasn't really angry. If anything, the Spinarak encounters had given them quite the adrenaline rush. "I swear, I saw the Legendary Celebi there." At this, Aurora raised an eyebrow, and Alpha only cupped his chin in thought.

"Sure you did." Roxanne replied with a smirk.

 _Those two have no idea.._ Aurora thought, laughing to herself. _Lady Celebi actually spends a lot of her time at that forest._

 _So I hear._ Alpha replied to her. _She is the guardian of forests, correct? It is possible then that he may have seen her before._ He then looked up at the sun. _It's already noon,_ he told Aurora, _it should be cooling down soon._

Several minutes later found them on their run. Alpha and Aurora were behind the two humans, making sure the two didn't fall behind and were going at a steady pace. At one point during the run, Hugh made a joke how running should come naturally with the two Legendaries, seeing as they were wolves, and that the two were getting things easy. Knowing he was only teasing, Aurora decided to tease back, and mentioned how running should be quite easy for humans as well for the fact that they tend to turn tail and run at the sight of danger. Especially since they have no natural form of defense like pokemon do.

He and Aurora ended up making more jabs to each other, war was declared the moment Aurora made that comment.

 _Twenty minutes already?_ Hugh thought as they were called to stop. "I'll have a bunch more burns ready for you the next time we run, Aurora." he said with a laugh.

"Bring it on." the Akirari challenged, giving him a friendly nudge. The nudge made Hugh stop and think for a moment. He would never had thought that he would be on such close terms with a Legendary, let alone making jokes or teasing one. The realization made him smile, he and Roxanne had really come far. Farther than becoming a Trainer and earning six badges.

"Drink some more water and take another small break. We'll start the basics in a moment." Alpha told them, taking his own advice and drinking some of his bottled water. "Lady Akirari, would you mind spreading a cooling mist?" Aurora raised an eyebrow, not really understanding. The Fenrir gestured to the sweating humans and she instantly got what he meant. Palms out, a very cooling mist emitted from her being and soon enough, Hugh and Roxanne weren't sweating anymore.

"Good idea." Aurora complimented, though she was frowning. "And you can always call me Aurora, you know?"

 _He'll probably still call her formally._ Hugh thought, seeing Alpha nod. "Quick question." The two Legendaries looked at him. "I know you guys have fur and all, but do you sweat?" To his surprise, because he even doubted his own question, they nodded. Aurora was the one to answer.

"When we're in our true forms, we sweat through the pads in our paws. It's the only area in our bodies that have sweat glands. As we are now, we sweat very lightly from our hair." She gestured to her hair on her head. Alpha nodded to confirm her explanation.

"Hm, interesting." Roxanne thought out loud. "I've only seen canines pant and stick their tongues out. Didn't know canines can actually sweat."

"The more you know." Hugh said with a shrug. "Anyway," he looked at Aurora, then at Alpha. "Should we get started then?"

…

The first thing the two Legendaries had them do was...well, to do their best. Meaning, Alpha attacked Hugh while Aurora went for Roxanne in order to see what they could do. This, of course, resulted in the two humans try their best to evade (which didn't work most of the time given that the two Legendaries were _really_ fast). At one point, the two offered to do the evading while Hugh and Roxanne did the attacking.

They barely got in a few hits.

Standing on the field now, despite being covered in bruising wounds, the two humans were being given their weak points. They were to work on their weaknesses as they trained. One main weaknesses they needed to cover was their lack of agility. Even though they were humans, their agility needed to be above average. And if they were to be Knights, they needed to be _exceptionally_ agile.

So, Hugh was focusing on keeping away from the clawed fists and kicks aimed his way. _How am I still up and running?_ he asked himself as he tripped, falling back as Aurora's kick swepped harmlessly over his head. _Got lucky there._ he thought as he scrambled back to his feet. In the corner of his eye, he spotted Roxanne barely ducking away from Alpha's punch.

"You'd better focus, Hugh!" Hugh had to refrain from hacking up his breakfast as he felt Aurora's fist connect with his abdomen. "Roxanne can handle herself, and when the two of you are on the field, you'll have to trust that she'll be fine!"

Recovering, Hugh managed to catch Aurora's foot- _How the hell did I just do that?-_ and shove her back. "Uh, right!" He wondered how they did it, the current Knights of Arceus. To be under so much pressure on the field and still keeping calm, while being able to fight back. Weren't they worried that they might just make a fatal mistake that could cost them their lives?

Despite that they were only training, that was what Hugh was focusing on right now. Not making a fatal mistake and end up six feet under. The thought of dying was a good incentive to keep dodging, actually.

He was only trying his best to pull off the counters and such that the two Legendaries had taught them. He had a golden opportunity earlier, when he grabbed Aurora's leg. Had he thought of it, he would have pulled her close and bring down an elbow to her knee though, at the time, he was only focusing on creating some distance between them.

About an hour later found the two humans on the ground, absolutely exhausted. "You two did well for your current dispositions." Alpha remarked as he helped the two of them up. "We will train like this for two hours every day. When we make it to the second quarter and we're satisfied with your capabilities, we will focus on ranged attacks."

"He's right, you two did really well." Aurora supplied. "At this rate, your training will be completed in no time." She then handed them both their water bottles. "Let's get back to the house, you guys."

…

 _ **With Aurora…**_

"So can anyone become a Knight?" Aurora paused in drying her hair. She had just taken a shower. In fact, they all did due to the grueling training. Across from her, standing next to the other couch, was Alpha. He had been reading his book again, though he was looking up at Hugh's question.

"Not just anyone, Hugh." Aurora answered. "Just those picked by Lord and Lady Arceus. But, all humans do have the inherent power to."

"Wait, really?" Aurora nodded. She remembered asking the question herself, and recalled the words Lady Arceus told her.

"Indeed." It was Alpha who answered, and his voice made them jump for he had been silent since they returned from outside. "Superhuman strength and speed as well as dexterity, all humans have the potential to have that power unlocked."

"So why don't we see a lot of Knights around? I mean, if anyone has the potential to unlock that power, wouldn't every other person be a Knight?"

"Like Lady Akirari stated, only specifically chosen people can become Knights. Those who are not Knights either have ill intent or do not have the will to become one should they be given the offer. Although, Knights are not so small in number as you think. Knights have been around as long as pokemon have."

Aurora would have laughed at their expressions had it not been for the somewhat serious atmosphere. "It's true. Remember what we explained to you yesterday? About your affinities to elemental magic? Everyone has a elemental power within them, though it is not unlocked until Lord or Lady Arceus allows it." Aurora leaned forward and rested her arms on her lap. "It's the same with the first pokemon. All pokemon are naturally resistant towards Normal-type attacks because at one point, all of their ancestors were "Normal"-types. Normal animals, though not exactly like the Originals which I'll get to later. When the first Arceus came to be, they unlocked the elemental power within many of the animals and those animals "evolved" to become the pokemon you know today, their bodies changing to suit their element and needs. The rest of the animals either became Normal-types or Originals."

Aurora could see that they were still confused and she looked at Alpha for help. "Put it this way," the Fenrir said, "you humans classify pokemon ranged attacks as Special attacks, yes?" They nodded. "The animals had no "special attacks", not counting natural defenses like poisonous bites and the like, before the first Arceus unlocked their natural elements. The same goes for super-powered attacks like **Stone Edge**. A normal bear cannot perform such an attack, but a Ursaring may.

"It may be a bit difficult to understand, though humans have the same potential. And that it our point, any human can have their inherent power unlocked, like the first pokemon."

"What about the Originals? What's the difference between them and the first animals?" Roxanne asked.

"An Original has the capacity to learn magic or elemental attacks. They are also naturally more intelligent and powerful than feral animals and pokemon. Animals, like normal fish such as bass or stripers, do not have the capacity to have abilities such mental communication or the like. They only have the barest of defenses, like the fangs of a dog or the stinger of a wasp. They have no supernatural capabilities whatsoever."

"Are you two Originals?" This question came from Hugh.

"I'm not," Aurora answered as she smiled. "Remember, I used to be a Suicune...mostly." They looked at Alpha.

"I suppose I am, mostly." the Fenrir said. "As you know, I am not from here. And my species is of its own origins." At their raised eyebrows, he added, "We were not bestowed or altered since our existence. We came into existence as we are."

"Mostly?" Roxanne asked.

"You would call a pig or dog, wolf or birds, Originals, as long as they have the ability to shift into anthropomorphic forms." He suddenly looked thoughtful, though Aurora couldn't really tell since he always had a poker-face expression. "That is also way to tell the difference between an animal and an Original, the latter can change into an anthropomorphic form. As for me.." His eyes suddenly became cold. "Humans do not have the slightest idea if my kind exists or not. They only have legends or myths, though they do not know for sure. And I plan to keep my existence unknown to the humans."

For some reason, Aurora knew not to question him why. The others did as well.

"Say," Roxanne said, "so you know how to manipulate Darkness _and_ Void, right? It's a package deal?" Alpha looked at her, nodding. "What can you do with it? I mean, I have some ideas about it, but…"

Alpha suddenly shifted his foot. "Try to move." Roxanne, raising an eyebrow, tried to move from her seat only to suddenly fall back as if she was chained by the leg.

"What gives?" she asked, attempting to get up once more only to fail. Alpha pointed to the floor, the rest of them noticed the fact that his foot was on the leg of her shadow which was casted about a little more than halfway across the room. "Wha-?"

"Shadow Snare." Alpha explained, before removing his foot from her shadow. Roxanne found that she could move again and eyed the Fenrir with awe, she hoped that she had a high affinity for Darkness even more. "Darkness has various applications. You can manipulate shadows, make them tangible if you'd like. You can phase through shadowed walls to get through the other side. Anything the deals with Darkness," Alpha stared at her, and Roxanne almost shivered, "you can learn to manipulate and succumb to your will."

"What about illusions? I know Dark-type pokemon can cast them." Hugh asked. Alpha nodded. "Can you demonstrate for us?"

"Is there anything specific you'd like to see?"

Hugh tapped his chin in thought. "Can you make me look like a zombie?" Alpha blinked.

"Oh my-Hugh!" Roxanne exclaimed. Said humans looked at her.

"Is it working?"

"See for yourself, Hugh." Aurora asked, recoiling slightly. Hugh stood up and looked himself over, amazed. His skin had developed a dull gray pallor, flesh torn and hanging in several areas and the occasional bone showed. He was missing a few fingers and every now and then, a bug would make themselves at home within his body. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was stringy and dying. Even his clothes were worse for wear, as they were in tatters and bloody in a few areas. "Cool."

 _I hope he doesn't want to stay looking like that._ Aurora thought.

At the moment, Oculus flew in through the window. He perched himself on Hugh's shoulder, and the others wondered if he didn't notice Hugh's current appearance. "Hey Hugh, when are we practicing the-?" Hugh turned around to look at Oculus and the Noctowl took one moment to registered Hugh's zombified appearance before falling to the ground. Unconscious.

"Uh, he'll be fine." Hugh stated. He then went over to the corner of the room and kneeled in front of Rift. "Hey, Rift." The Alakazam only stared back at him blankly. "Okay-yyy? That's normal for him."

"That's Rift for you." Roxanne smirked. Hugh turned around and grinned, shrugging as he sat back down. He scratched his head, realizing with a start that he didn't look like a walking corpse anymore.

"Thank you, Alpha." Aurora sighed with relief. _Because that was plain creepy as hell._ The Fenrir nodded. He then looked over at Roxanne, his expression thoughtful. After a moment of gently prodding his mind for permission, the two linked minds once again. _What is it?_

 _She has a high affinity towards Darkness, she'll be of the Dark-types._

 _And you can tell just by her interest in your powers?_ Aurora asked, skeptical. One could not just simply tell what element another would be able to utilize right off the bat from the latter's interests.

 _The darkness within her is significantly above average._ Alpha answered, surprising her. _Mind you, it is not all negative as most would think. She has been through hardship, and yet, she continues to push through her struggles in order to get what she wants. She's a strong-willed one._

 _If she's as you say..._ Aurora began.

 _She is._ Alpha replied, calm. As the two conversed, Roxanne and Hugh were going over ideas of the possible applications they could use with whatever element they may inherit.

 _...then it'll be easier for her to manifest and control Darkness._ Aurora finished. _But even then, you-, no,_ Aurora thought better of her words. _-she will have to be careful in case it goes unstable._ Alpha nodded.

"Anyone have an idea what we can do for tonight?" Aurora asked as she looked out the window. _Almost sundown._ She didn't want every day to be only revolving around their training, she wanted to have carefree fun as well. As casual friends would. With a glance to her left, she saw Alpha reading his book _again._ Hugh and Roxanne were settling down from their conversation, Oculus had been returned to his pokeball so he wouldn't remain passed out on the floor, and Rift was actually honing his psychic abilities with his spoons rather than meditating.

"Movie night?" Roxanne suggested. Aurora didn't mind the sound of that. In fact, she was actually leaning towards the idea. "No movies focused on romance and romance only though, I can't stand sappy stuff."

 _You and me, both._ Aurora thought.

"You three can decide on it, I will be going outside soon." Alpha stated. The Akirari rolled her eyes at his words, figuring he would say that by now. "If any of you require my services later, I will be outside and within earshot to call."

"Hugh?" Aurora snapped her attention to Hugh and Roxanne, the former grinning almost madly and the latter looking concerned. "Hey, what's with that smirk? Hugh? Hugh!" As if he had finally heard her, Hugh met Roxanne's eyes before grinning at Aurora and Alpha.

"I have an idea."

…

It was dark in the living room. The lights were off to suit the atmosphere and the windows were partially open, the curtains blowing almost eerily with the breeze. The only source of light in the living room was a small golden orb of Light which was floating above Aurora's open palm. The couches had been pushed to rest against the walls and the table had been placed against the wall underneath the TV.

They found themselves huddled in a circle. Well, excluding Alpha who was reading his book in the dark on the couch. The three of them had been exchanging ghost stories for the past half hour. While Hugh and Roxanne's stories were constructed and delivered well, Aurora's ghost stories were more credible due to the fact that she had been telling them of actual paranormal events that occurred in her travels in her duties as a Legendary. Their hairs were tingling and their goosebumps were raised.

The same went for even Aurora, despite the fact that _she_ was the one currently telling the ghost story.

"-and that's how Lord Hoopa became the Ghost-type he is today. He never saw that specter again, nor did he ever recover the rest of his soul since then." Aurora finished, exhaling deeply. She shivered, the story was _even creepier_ when Hoopa told her what happened. He never did stop smiling for the rest of their exchange that day…

"Okay, Aurora, I think we all know that's it's unfair you know TRUE ghost stories whereas we only know rumors and legends." Hugh commented, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. Roxanne was smirking, she rather _enjoyed_ ghost stories despite the chills she'd always receive. Aurora would have been unnerved by that smile had it not been the fact that she knew Roxanne. Otherwise, the Akirari would not trust her as far as she could throw a Wailord.

 _Wait a min-...Nah.._ "Whatever, you're just jealous that I tell better stories."

"Well either way," Roxanne announced, "it's my turn to tell one. _Ahem_ …"

…

"Those words...They will forever haunt him. 'You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?'..." Roxanne then went quiet. "And those two save files? They still read ' _Ben drowned'_ in the end. And even now, no one knows who's this Ben person is." At her silence, they knew she was done. And Aurora had to admit, that story was pretty creepy. Then again, it was meant to be. Roxanne took in their expressions, smirking and nodding her satisfaction.

She then paled, and Aurora thought it was a trick of the light. But upon further expression, she noticed that Roxanne began sweating. Cold sweat. "Roxanne? What's…" She trailed off. Her trainee was pointing past her with a shaking finger.

"Ho-ly _crap_." Hugh muttered as Aurora turned around. Standing stock still behind her was _it._ The very thing Roxanne's story revolved around. It stood about four feet tall, wooden in make. At its base was a square podium for it to remain upright. Its legs had tannish leggings donned, tucked into brown boots. It wore a green tunic and a brown belt on its torso, with a matching green cap on its head.

"No way…" Aurora spoke, barely above a whisper. The statue before them was an effigy of a young boy with ears similar to that of an elf, standing rigid with its arms at its side and its legs together. Long blonde hair parted at the middle of the forehead, perfectly symmetrical. The effigy's blank blue eyes were almost squinted, and between them began the long bridge of its bulbous nose. The effigy had an awkward smile, Aurora thought. _Wait, is it a smile?_ It almost seemed as if the effigy was grimacing, though its expression made it hard to tell.

Aurora backed away from the effigy, and the two humans seconded her action. There was _no way_ that thing should be there! It was just a story Roxanne found off the internet for Arceus' sake! The effigy remained still as they backed away, its eyes following them despite the fact that the orbs were still. "What kind of fucked up shit is this?!" Roxanne exclaimed, surprising Aurora with her choice of words. In the corner of the Akirari's eyes, she spotted Hugh shake his head.

"I know she swears in bad situations, but if you're going to swear, then swear. If not, don't swear at all." he muttered quietly. Just as he finished talking, Aurora almost fell back as the effigy teleported to the spot _right in front of her._ Nothing about it changed, its facial expression remained blank which made the effigy even creepier.

"...Ben?" Aurora hazarded a guess. She thought that maybe the effigy before her contained the trapped spirit of the Ben person in Roxanne's story. What else could she think or do to explain in the situation?

The effigy's expression suddenly shifted, its eyes turning into a bright myriad of reds and oranges. Aurora almost swore she saw strange blue and red lines covering its face in strange swirling patterns. The effigy's grimace turned into a sinister smile, the eyes creasing into a glare. " _ **You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"**_

 _Th-Those words..._ Aurora thought. _..It's exactly the same._

In the next moment, they effigy blinked and blood slowly seeped from it's eyes. " _ **Do you want to play with me? OK, let's play good guys and bad guys…"**_ The effigy's smile became even more deranged. " _ **I'll be the good guy, and you be the bad guy, and when you're the bad guy, you just run."**_

The effigy then let out a laugh, one that bounced off the walls within their minds and sent chills down their spines.

"Okay, Alpha, I think you can stop now. Still though, pretty cool."

 _...What._ Aurora blinked. The effigy before them disappeared in a puff of shadows. _What._ Behind her, Hugh smiled wryly as he walked up to the Fenrir who was silent during the entire ordeal. He was still reading his book, and that was when Aurora realized that he was the only one who didn't react at all since the effigy had appeared.

"Is it to your satisfaction?" Alpha asked as he set down his book.

"Yeah," Hugh answered with a snicker, "their faces were pretty priceless. Nice job on the timing, by the way, I didn't even see that coming and _I_ was the one who came up with the plan."

"I figured it would be more effective to choose one of your stories at random. Doing so made it easier in the case of you showing your fear or shock matching theirs so they wouldn't suspect."

As the two conversed, Roxanne and Aurora looked at each other, flabbergasted. After a moment of silence, the two shook their heads and left to their rooms. Aurora decided it was a good time to sleep before she did something she'd regret. "Girls?" Hugh asked as he laughed, though his laughter died when he realized they weren't coming back down the stairs. "Girls? It was just a joke, come on!" They still didn't return. "Hey, Alpha, help me out here."

"I already have with the illusion." Alpha replied as he made his way to the front door. "If you need anything aside from trying to placate the two women's ire, I'll be outside securing the perimeter." Leaving the boy there, Alpha left the house and Hugh only sighed as he looked up the stairs. He clutched one of the two pokeballs on his belt.

"...I might need Rift for a quick escape." he said, thinking that the two girls upstairs might be angry enough to start attacking him.

…

 _A few hours later…_

 _ **With Roxanne…**_

Roxanne almost shivered as she stepped outside her room, closing the door behind her before she tightened the cords in her shorts around her waist. Yawning, she went downstairs and into the kitchen. Finding the coffee maker after turning the light on, she poured in some dark roast beans before turning on the coffee maker to begin the process. She also made sure to fill it with water, else, she'd just get concentrated coffee beans.

And that would be bitter.

 _Ugh, hate nightmares._ she thought as she rested a hand on her face, rubbing her eyes with her thumb and index finger. She spied the clock through her hand, finding that it was three in the morning. So in all, she had only gotten about a couple hours of sleep. She spent most of the night drawing in her sketch pad, interpreting her emotions of the day into whatever pictures she'd thought represented them best. Sighing, she leaned on the counter. _I'll have to add it to the sketch pad later, I doubt I'll be able to sleep anyway._ Roxanne interpreted her nightmares into drawings as well, not just her emotions. "Damn it, Hugh, you just _had_ to ask Alpha to scare us." The boy came to her earlier in the night to apologize, with Rift floating at his side. Of course, she had accepted his apology, though she promised him that if he tried it again, she'd pay him back tenfold.

So! He wouldn't scare her like that again, hehe.

Hugh had also apologized to Aurora. Roxanne shook her head, the Legendary accepted his apology without any threat of payback at all. How else Hugh would learn to not screw with them? Laughing quietly to herself at the thought, Roxanne returned her attention to the coffee maker. She saw that it had already began depositing the coffee into the mug she had placed there. Smiling, Roxanne watched as the mug was filled three-fourths of the way before the stream of coffee stopped. The mug was filled another inch as Roxanne poured some creamer into it, stirring the mixture with a straw before taking a careful sip.

 _Per-rrrrfect._

Content, she turned off the coffee maker and kitchen light. She began making her way to the stairs, preparing herself for the rest of the night. However, she stopped a couple of steps up the stairs when she caught the sight of the moon through the window above the front door. She remembered that Alpha was out there, probably sleeping. But then again, he was a wolf- _Albeit, a horned, winged one._.-so he should be up at night, right? She looked down at her coffee, noting how it would take a while before it turned lukewarm enough to drink. Shrugging, Roxanne turned around and went to the front door. Before stepping outside, she took a look at her clothing. She was wearing only shorts and a tank top.

 _It'll be cold...Eh, Aurora's attacks are colder and I have my coffee._ she thought. Opening the door and closing it behind her when she went outside, Roxanne scanned the area. She didn't see much save for the trees a ways out, and Alpha had black fur so he'd be practically invisible in the night. Still though, Roxanne knew that one could still spot something black in the darkest of night due to the fact that it would still give off a silhouette due to the moon's light however dim it was. If one wanted to blend in completely in the dark, they'd have to wear something of a dark gray color, for that would make it harder for someone else to spot their silhouette due to the soft transition of colors. It wouldn't stand out as much in certain settings like black would.

Bringing that knowledge to mind, she continued to scan the area of her Fenrir mentor. After a while, she frowned. It would be difficult, sure, but she should be able to at least spot his silhouette in the low light of the night. Roxanne walked further out into the field, her head on a swivel. She squinted her eyes every now and then whenever she thought she saw the Fenrir.

 _May I help you?_

Roxanne nearly spilled her coffee as the voice startled her. She spun in a circle, spotting Alpha walking towards her from the left. He was in his natural form and was towering over her when he closed the distance between the two. His eyes seemed to see right through her, as if he was reading her like a book. "Geez, Alpha! Don't sneak up on me like that!" The Fenrir bowed his head, the base of his horn almost making contact with the top of her head.

 _I apologize, I did not mean to do so. I will to alert you of my presence next time_. he replied, his tail flickering its flames as did the rest of the flames on his body. Standing next to him, Roxanne could feel the heat, though it wasn't unpleasant. It wasn't too hot, but warm. Soothing, almost. It was a great contrast to his cold eyes, though they seemed to be more relaxed at the moment. Aside from the flickering of his flames, Roxanne could hear nothing from him. Not even his breathing. It didn't even look like he was breathing, actually. Though, if she stared hard enough, she'd see that he was indeed breathing. His chest was barely moving with every breath. _Is there something you need?_

His question broke her out of her thoughts. Shaking her head, Roxanne sighed. "No, not really. I was just wondering if you were still up so I came out here." She shrugged. "I figured to might as well check since I doubt I can go back to sleep."

 _I see._ Alpha answered as he shifted his stance. He was now on his stomach, his forelegs almost crossing at the paws. Even laying down as he was, he was still about a head or two taller than her. He turned to stare at the moon, his expression unreadable. Roxanne figured he was deep in his thoughts.

"What were you doing out here before I came out?" she asked, sitting down and crossing her legs. She placed the coffee in the space in between her legs, she could feel the radiating heat with her feet.

 _I was taking a walk._ Alpha answered after glancing at her. _Before that, I was doing my rounds around the area._ Roxanne nodded and brought the coffee to her lips, carefully taking a sip before setting it down. She then shivered as a breeze picked up.

 _Okay, I should have brought a sweater and some pants._ she thought. She was then pleasantly surprised when Alpha curled his tail towards her, its tip resting between the two. She instantly felt warmer, coupling that with the slight warmth emanating from Alpha's prone body. "Thank you." she said with a smile.

 _Think nothing of it._ he replied, still staring at the moon. After a moment, he shifted his gaze to her. Roxanne almost shivered again, though it wasn't due to another breeze. _Do you need help sleeping? I can lull you to a deep and dreamless sleep, if you wish._ The offer was tempting, Roxanne almost accepted it the moment the last word left his mou-Er, his mind. But then, she thought about it for a moment before shaking her head with another smile.

"No, thank you. I'll be fine. How would you do it though?" The Fenrir nodded and craned his neck at an angle, popping it though it was surprisingly quiet. Roxanne suddenly felt the urge to do the same with her own neck.

 _I would simply calm your body, or mind, depending on which is restless, with simple mental brushes. Once that it done, you would immediately fall into a deep slumber._ Alpha answered. Roxanne raised an eyebrow, was it really that easy? Shrugging, she took another sip of her coffee. She thought about her nightmare and began planning out the sketch she'd have to make later. After a while of contemplating, she frowned. Alpha so happened to be facing her when she did, he was about to offer her sleep again. _Is there something wrong?_

'My nightmare...:" Roxanne answered. "I don't know what to make of it." She then tapped her knee thoughtfully. "It started out with me and...a really old friend playing together, we were kids again." She smiled. "He and I were playing I Spy, which was good. Actually, getting him to play was more of a good thing. He usually kept to himself so as you can imagine, it was a great success to me every time I got him to play or open up to me." Alpha nodded, curious of where this was headed. "So far, it went all good and normal before things got...dark. There were fires...everywhere, people were running around screaming and dying...My friend was in the middle of all that, crying his heart out and calling out..He was calling out for help, reaching out…"

Alpha was surprised to see a tear escape from Roxanne, she noticed his expression and inwardly cursed. Wiping away at her eyes, she took a sip of her coffee as if nothing had happened just now. _There is no need to continue, it is clear that you are uncomfortable._ The Fenrir raised an eyeridge when she raised a hand with a shake of her head.

"I'm fine." Roxanne assured. "I just got caught up in my emotions, I can keep going." _Well...more to draw later._ Alpha stared at her for a moment before nodding, waiting patiently for her to continue. "I remember trying to reach out for him, to try and hold his hand. I wanted to bring him close to me and give him a hug, everything I could do to comfort him. But I was just...so far _away_. I couldn't reach him." Another tear, but she didn't bother wiping it away. "I remember the day we left home and moved here, I really didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay there with him, I didn't want to leave him alone even though he still had his family there." She blinked and another tear fell. "A while later after I moved here, my dad went back to check up on things...He came back and told us that there was nothing left. Just...nothing. Everything was either burned to the ground or destroyed by something, a lot of people died…"

 _So this nightmare of yours,_ Alpha thought, _you think it might be connected to the time you left home to come here? That your friend and the destruction of your home happened around that time?_

"Or earlier." Roxanne said with a nod. "It was maybe a year or so later when my dad went to check, so I don't know when exactly it happened." She shakily picked up the mug of coffee to her lips, downing a gulp for it wasn't as hot anymore. Roxanne noticed her shaking hand and berated herself inwardly. She was just so..weak! Alpha remained silent as he watched her struggle. "I really miss him, I don't know whether or not he survived." Roxanne added after a sigh. "I heard that most of the surviving villagers moved away to the regions, I plan to look for him when all this is said and done."

 _He is the reason why you took the offer to train._ Roxanne winced, it wasn't a question from him but a statement. He figured her out. _You think there is a greater chance of finding him with all this training, you may even be thinking that Lady Arceus might offer her help in the matter herself._ She nodded, and Alpha turned his gaze to the moon again. They were silent for a while, Roxanne eventually finished her coffee and no longer had anything to warm her insides. Her core felt cold after some time, and she was thankful that Alpha was providing some heat. _I give you my condolences for whatever happened to your friend and your home, it is not easy talking about loss._ Roxanne quietly thanked him, to which he nodded. _I know for a fact that you are determined and have a strong will. I am sure that given some time, you will find your friend, wherever he may be._

It was small, his attempt to comfort her. It was small, but it was meant huge for her. Roxanne smiled, feeling a lot better for some reason now that she even had the Fenrir's blessings on the matter. "Thanks, Alpha." she said after a moment. "That really means a lot to me, and coming from you, it really makes me rethink what I used to think about you." Alpha gave her a curious look.

 _May you please explain to me?_ he asked.

"Well, you're really distanced. Your expression is always either cold or blank and you seem to not really care for whatever is happening around. I thought you were the brash type too, with how strong you are and your harshness towards some things." She paused for a bit. "I guess I can say that I didn't really think you'd care, that you just want to get this training over with so you can go back and do what you want to do." Roxanne smiled at him, an action that she knew he was a little foreign to. "I know now that you're none of those things, that you're really a nicer person on the inside who's constantly on guard." Her smile remained as her eyes became a little sad. "Exactly like him, actually."

Alpha remained staring at her for some time before turning away. Roxanne almost laughed at the situation and focused her attention to his tail which was right next to her leg. She was almost mesmerized by the flickering flames at its tip, she was so close to it. Yet, she didn't feel singed or any sharp pain. She didn't know how long she was staring, but it was long enough for Alpha to catch on. _It will only burn you if I will it to._

He basically gave her the permission to touch his tail, if she'd like. _Will it really not burn?_ she thought, actually bringing her hands closer to his tail. Part of her screamed for her hands to stop, that she was crazy for even considering trying to touch the flaming tail. The other part of her wanted to sate her curiosity and eventually, it was the latter of the two sides that won.

 _Soft. Soft and really warm._

Those words were the first words that came to mind as she stroked the end of his tail. Roxanne felt the flames weaving around her hands and added with the feeling of his fur, it was like feeling a warm blanket that was _alive_. She watched how the flames danced around her hand, how they parted whenever she tried to make contact with them. It was so amazing to her that she wasn't getting burned. She then figured that it must be the same way for pokemon like Rapidash or Charizards when their flames comes into contact with whatever's in the world.

A yawn escaped her lips, and Roxanne knew that she was way too tired all of a sudden to make her way back to her room. She looked up at Alpha, the Fenrir was still deep in thought. She studied his features for a while before smiling, quietly thanking him again before doing something neither of them would had ever thought she'd do.

She leaned on his side and curled his tail around her, resting it on her lap.

Roxanne almost laughed as she closed her eyes, feeling Alpha's muscles tense at her sudden action. She imagined how his expression might be, all startled or confused at her sudden closeness. She could feel him trying to come up with something to say to her about it, "trying" being the keyword.

"Goodnight, Alpha." she ended up saying as sleep began to take over her senses. The Fenrir she was falling asleep on went still and before long, he nodded and shook his head at her.

 _Goodnight to you, Roxanne, and gave a good rest._ Alpha said with an inward sigh, Roxanne knew that he knew he couldn't get out of this one. _Though it is technically morning._

Deciding to ignore his small comment about the time, she leaned deeper into his side. She felt a small breeze, then realizing that it was actually his breathing and that the wind came from his nose. It was slow and steady. She felt him study her for a little bit before he lowered his head to the ground, probably to sleep as well. Roxanne inwardly smiled.

Even though she no longer had coffee, she felt really warm inside. And it was thanks to the fearsome wolf at her side.

"Call me Roxy." she sleepily replied, falling asleep to the sound of his steady breathing shortly after.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry, we know we're kinda late! Had our laptop taken away XD.** _ **Somebody**_ **just had to lose their temper at the mall with a certain clerk and** _ **possibly**_ **got in a** _ **little**_ **fight with him. Mall security basically took us in and kicked us out. To make up for it, we cracked down on chapter 6 and got about ten pages done so when it's finished (which is soon), we'll post it immediately afterwards!**

 **Story of the week spotlight goes to:**

" **The Silent Kingdom" by Freedan the Eternal, a rated T Romance/Adventure story (very long, guys like, +900k words) set in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It's a great fanfic with little to no mistakes in grammar or anything like that featuring just the right balance of comedy, action, and of course, romance with a little angst in between it all. It's a finished story so you don't have to worry about updates so if you're interested, find it and give it a read!**

 **Shoutouts goes to the following: imotolucy, tyler27872 (this person favorited/followed** _ **all**_ **of our stories so applaud for them XD), and of course, AGuyWithNoSkills (who has reviewed every chapter so far :) NoSkills, sorry for not replying to the latest one!)**

 **And now, a word from my cowriter. Ever since I mentioned the whole mall incident, he's been seething.**

 **Nyx: Hello, mates! Just one thing,** _ **fuck**_ **bloody clerks who stare at their phone and talk instead of scanning our shit so we can pay and leave** _ **. Fuck. Them.**_ **Bye now! Sorry for our lateness, we're making up for it. Hope you like the references we put in there, see if you can spot them all. Love you all and hope you're having an ace day!**

 **He's still pissed guys XD ANYWAYS, enjoy the chapter (hopefully, it's not bad). Read, review (if you'd like) and enjoy...Said that already. Darn, messed up the flow!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, Nintendo does, neither do we own any other character we may or may not borrow from random franchises (Need to put that there more often or else, we might get in trouble XD) .**

 **Chapter 5: Attack**

 _ **With Ryker…**_

Ryker didn't know what to think as Roxanne fell asleep against his side. He had spent many years hiding his emotions, burying them. He had always kept his guard up and to many, he was an unknown. But now, it all came crashing down on him. Roxanne, a girl who had only spent a short while with him so far, just walked right past his wall just from him muttering two sentences? Shaking his head, Alpha rested his head on his forelegs. On the contrary to her claims, he wasn't so nice as she thought him out to be. He genuinely didn't care a single damn about others save for a select few. To put it simply, if he were to be walking down the road and someone was being mugged, would he or would he not help? The answer was simple.

If the person being mugged affected him in any way in the future, sure. If not, then good luck to the one being mugged.

It was as simple as that. _So why?_ _Why can she not tell? Why does she not leave me be, knowing that I am not a very amiable individual._ Glancing at her, he saw her cuddling with his tail and he almost left the area right there. _And leaning on me, let alone sleeping on me...Is that not only close individuals partake in? Family, friends, or lovers?_

And she wasn't the only one. He thought of how Hugh and Aurora had been trying to slip between the cracks in his wall as well. Even when he pushed away their social advances, gave them his usual cold stares to deter them from involve him in anything more than they needed him to be. He had even decided to sleep outside rather than share the house with them (even though that was actually a personal preference)! Did that not give them the hint that he'd rather be left alone when he could? Or that he was simply not open to any kinds of social relationships save for mentor and trainee d due to the current situation? It was all confusing to him. For years, he had been keeping to himself. He still was. And in all those years, his personality and behaviors constantly pushed away everyone who tried getting close. In all honesty, he was pleased at the fact that he could do that. He was a lone wolf, literally, he didn't need friends or lovers to get things done.

So why, all of a sudden, was it different now? Opening his eyes once more, he studied Roxanne again. She looked awfully comfortable and content sleeping against him like that. It was a complete turnaround from how she usually kept her distance from him in the previous days. She had implied that he was a friend when she gave him permission to use her nickname earlier, or an acquaintance, at least. _...Am I her friend? Does she consider me one because I remind her of her old friend?_ Ryker's mind was hard at work. Aside from whether or not he considered her a friend as well, he was also thinking about her nickname. _Roxy..._ He frowned, it had a familiar yet, foreign lilt to it. He found that for some reason, he rather liked the nickname.

In any case, it was another thing to add on the peculiarities he had felt ever since their first meeting. And they were all similar. She was either familiar or foreign, the line between the two was drawn so very close when it came to her. Roxanne looked familiar, but she didn't. Perhaps he knew someone who looked similar in the past? If that was the case, then there was nothing he could do about that due to his repressed memories. The same went with her familiar/foreign behavior and personality as well as her appearance and traits.

Now the question was simple: Should he push her and the others away like he always had with the people he came across, or should he simply let it happen and see what happens from there? Normally, the choice would be simple, for it never changed. Hell, he would be gone from the vicinity by this time. But now, the question seemed to be a lot more difficult. _This is...troublesome._ Ryker thought. _I do not want company, I hate company._

No. It wasn't that he hated company, he was _afraid_ of it. He feared the betrayal that might come from it. Lies, deceit, manipulation. With his repressed memory, he only knew that the people who knew his family were full of them. Shaking his head, Ryker thought of his years of service to the Arceus. On a few of his previous quests or missions, he had been double-crossed in some way or form, by someone. It was mainly the reason why he preferred to work alone when it came to the assignments the two Arceus gave him, why he did mostly assassinations to those the two deities considered threats.

Trust no one, only trust those who wouldn't get you killed.

He came to live by that principle for a while now. It worked out for him, so why stray from it? "...no..the chickens...why'd you cut off their heads...they still run around…" Roxanne muttered in her sleep. Ryker suddenly felt...amused. Positively amused.

 _You're smiling._ Ryker instantly developed a cold expression, his eyes revering the Arceus floating before him in respect. _Aw, where did it go?_ The Fenrir didn't even realize that he was smiling before, though his muzzle did feel strained as if it went through something strenuous.

 _Is there something we need to discuss, Milady?_ Ryker asked.

 _Can't I visit the Fenrir I consider my son and talk?_ she asked, smirking. Ryker briefly dropped his expression, a ghost of a smile creasing his features, before it disappeared.

 _So this is not a visit on business then?_

 _Not really._ Jeanne floated to the ground and lay on her stomach. _Well, one question, actually. How are they doing so far?_

 _The two are doing significantly well for humans, training should not be too much of a mountain to climb. I would say that these two are your fastest learners yet. They will be strong and loyal._ Ryker then glanced at Roxanne. _They have nigh unbreakable will and high determination. They will become great Knights should they pass your final test._

 _I'm glad to hear that._ Jeanne then prodded his shoulder before he went into deep thought. _How are you, Ryker?_ Ryker instinctively raised his guard, his eyes becoming cold as he answered.

 _I am as fine as I can be._ The Fenrir thought that it was almost the perfect answer when it came to questions questioning his overall health or situation. With those words, he wouldn't be lying. If he was secretly dying and someone were to ask him how he was, those words would still work. It would mean that in his current condition, the example being dying, he was in top condition as he could be while dying. No one can call him out on lying, for he wouldn't be, and with that answer, it was subtle enough to make the asker believe everything was alright.

But of course, Ryker thought, it was harder to do with Jeanne. You can't get much past her.

 _Good to hear._ Jeanne told him after a moment of silence. Ryker could tell that she was satisfied with his answer for all she could see, was how he was physically. He had no injuries or sickness, as far as she knew, and he was in perfect health. In truth, the only thing hindering him was his mental debate on Roxanne and the others. _Looks like she's warmed up to you._

 _So it seems, though I believe it was only because I offered my ears in her time of trouble._ Ryker saw that Jeanne almost facepalmed, or whatever it was called when one had hooves. _Was it something I said?_

 _Can't you just accept that the two of you are friends and it's because that you allowed yourself to become a little more feeling? Sympathetic?_ She smiled at his pondering expression. _It is not that hard to figure out, you know?_

 _It is when you do not have friends or the feeling of having friends to relate to. I do not know whether or not-_.

 _Just accept it._ Jeanne told him with a stern tone, though her smile remained. Ryker blinked. _This is good for you, Ryker. It is actually good for the rest of them._ She gestured to Roxanne and the house. _Is it so hard to accept them?_ She waited for his answer, seeing him glance between her and Roxanne and then to the house.

Ryker then stared at the moon once more, somehow feeling as if it would help him with his decision. It was his only solace nowadays, and he often found himself basking in its light as he sifted through his thoughts for it was his only company most of the time. And so, as he lay before Jeanne, Ryker returned his gaze to the Arceus. _...I will accept them._ Though, he didn't tell her that. All he did was give her a simple nod, and Jeanne smiled.

…

 _Two weeks later..._

"Breathe, Hugh. Allow the air to refresh your body with every movement." Ryker said as he ducked under Hugh's punch. Hugh followed it up with a kick aimed for Ryker's stomach, but the Fenrir redirected it away with a simple wave of the hand. "Fight to survive, Hugh, fight to survive." Hugh gave two quick jabs, both connecting with the back of the Fenrir's hand. "Do not give any openings to your opponent. Do not even give them time to think. You want to be relentless, unmerciful, to be the top of the food chain." Ryker continued.

As Hugh tried his best to land a blow on the Fenrir, Ryker heard Aurora and Roxanne going through the same thing. _How is it on your end, Lady Aki-Aurora?_

 _Good, you caught yourself!_ She was amused and he knew it. _And she's getting better! Both of them are! I can't believe how fast they-OW!_ Ryker blinked as he pivoted on the spot, Hugh barreling past him in an attempt to tackle the Fenrir. _Man, that HURT! My jaw.._ Shaking his head, Ryker suddenly got into a stance which gave Hugh the signal that the Fenrir was going into the offensive. At this, Hugh quickly brought up his arms.

Ryker was instantly a breath's distance away from Hugh, sending a kick that pushed the human back several feet. He heard Hugh wince and say, "Argh, that's going to bruise..again." Although it looked like a single step, Ryker closed the distance between them instantaneously and unleashed a barrage of combos, each pushing Hugh further back with every hit. Hugh was barely managing to either block or deflect them, Ryker nodding his approval every now and then.

"Keep it up, Hugh, we have another hour to go."

"Ugh, _why?!_ " Hugh then smiled, chuckling as he leapt back to put some distance between him and the Fenrir. "Well, if I _have_ to then." he added, shaking the pain out of his arms before readying himself for another barrage of attacks. Hugh then suddenly cocked his head at an angle. Ryker surmised that Rift was speaking to the human telepathically, for Aurora was the only other telepathic though she was busy with Roxanne. Looking for the Noctowl, Ryker spotted Oculus flying in circles, evading attacks from Rift who was floating above the ground.

The Fenrir raised a hand and gripped Hugh's incoming fist, the Knight-in-training showed shock at his failed attempt to sucker punch Ryker. "That was a good try, though you'll have to be quieter in your steps, Hugh." Ryker then attempted to backhand the human with a closed fist, though the latter was able to react fast enough to duck under the attack. In the next split-second, Ryker quickly reversed direction of his backhand to box Hugh's ear.

"Gah!" Hugh staggered back, rubbing his now very sore ear. "I think that might've given me cauliflower ear." He then initiated a peppy routine, shaking his hands and bending his knees as if he was just warming up. "I'm good, let's keep going!" Ryker nodded.

Hugh was the one to attack this time, feinting a jab to Ryker's abdomen. Ryker responded in suit, disregarding the fact that the blow was deceptive and actually took hold of Hugh's arm, surprising the human and thrusting his palm into Hugh's elbow lightly. "That would've been it for your arm for the remainder of the day." Hugh gulped and Ryker, not relenting, took hold of Hugh's shirt and threw the human over his head.

"Oof!" Hugh exhaled as he tried to recover from the slam to the ground.

 _He is fine, he will get up._ Ryker thought as Hugh slowly rose to his feet. _Neither of the two would give up just like that._ "Would you like to take a small break?"

"No! No." Hugh panted. "Gotta keep the heart-rate up, you know? C'mon, let's keep going until the rest of the hour is up!" The moment he stopped talking, Hugh sped forward and rammed into the Fenrir, sending the two back some ways. The two grappled for a moment, Ryker noting how much effort Hugh was giving as the two tried to overpower the other. He heard Hugh wince, it was probably due to the fact that the Fenrir's claws dug deeper into the back of his hands the more Hugh pushed.

Hugh grunted in effort, Ryker watched him jump from their grapple position before planting his feet into Ryker's chest. Ryker stumbled, as the unexpected double-kick was fairly strong. He then felt Hugh's fist connect with his abdomen before another went to his throat. The Fenrir took another step back as Hugh took a small running start and jumped, kicking Ryker on the chin right in front of his chin spike. The last attack sent Ryker back a foot or so, the Fenrir sending Hugh another nod of approval. "Very good, the execution was almost perfect." The Fenrir honestly did not expect the attack coming, he was almost certain that Aurora was the one who had taught the human the attack for he didn't recognize it.

"Have to thank Aurora." Hugh managed to say as he took a deep breath, confirming Ryker's thoughts. "She taught me to do that to opponents who are larger than me. I can use their size against them by having them act as a balance when I bring up my legs to kick. When you stumbled and almost lost your balance, the hits to your stomach and throat were meant to throw you off completely or at least stun you. The kick was my own thing though, hehe. I threw that in for good measure." Hugh then wiped the sweat off his face as he readied himself, the training session wasn't over yet.

"It is smart, you should be proud of yourself for being able to pull it off. Would you like to learn the hurricanrana?" the Fenrir replied. Ryker almost chuckled at Hugh's confusion.

"The what?"

"A move also used for those bigger than you. Here, let me show you…"

…

 _ **With Hugh…**_

The next thing Hugh knew, Hugh was on his back looking up at the sky. It would be understatement to state that he was dazed. One moment, Alpha was in his face. The next, he was on the ground. _Ugh, I'm so sore._ "What the heck was that?" Alpha's open hand entered his vision and Hugh took it, feeling the Fenrir pull him to his feet with ease.

"That, was the hurricanrana. It was a bit tricky for me to pull off, seeing as I am bigger than you, but still effective."

"Yeah, but what did you _do_?" All Hugh could recall was feeling a sudden weight on his shoulders before his feet was suddenly in the air. He remembered feeling weightless for just a moment before he came crashing down to the world. His neck was hurting too, not just his back.

"You throw yourself on your opponent and wrap your legs around their neck, sliding yourself around to face the back of their head before you use your legs to throw them head over heels by their head."

 _Oh, so that's how it works...and it happened so fast._ Hugh thought.

"But beware," the Fenrir added with a raised finger, "the one who initiates the attack throws themselves to the ground as well in the end. Be mindful of your body's condition and your surroundings before trying it out against someone."

"Gotcha, thanks for the tips." Hugh smiled. "So when are you going to teach me that?" _Because why not? It looks cool...or, sounds cool, and it looks like it can knock a lot of people onto their backs. It did for me._

"I can teach it you now, but let us finish this session first. When we are done, I will teach you the form and execution and you can practice with it for however long you would like."

 _Meaning,"Let me beat you black and blue a while longer before we get to that._ Hugh thought with an inward laugh. "Okay then." To be honest with himself, training wasn't so bad as it had seemed at first. With every day, and he could tell, it was becoming gradually less and less arduous. Was it him becoming used to the routine? Was his body developing some kind of tolerance towards the numerous hits, practically beatings, they had been dealing with?

Or was his body becoming numb due to all the pain he had endured? Meh, some food for thought.

But aside from whether or not it was becoming easier with every day that passed, Hugh knew that in the end, it was only for their own benefit. Blood, sweat, and tears were the surefire way to get where they needed, and as he had always heard, "No pain, no gain." _And if THAT'S the case, I must be gaining like heck right now. I'd bet Roxanne is too._ Already, due to their training, what little fat the two humans had were burned away and were replaced with healthy, strong muscle. Little by little, their bodies were becoming more defined and toned. Hugh noticed this recently when he looked over himself in the mirror in his room. And he had thought the Trainer's journey was one hell of a body-sculpter.

Regardless of that fact, Hugh often found himself smiling at his own reflection more, pleased at himself for making it as far as he did, along with Roxanne, of course. If only his sister knew, not to mention, his parents. Oh, and the rest of his team as well. They would be even more proud of him, he'd wager. If only he could tell them of the situation, of how Arceus herself invited him to be under her service. But alas, he didn't want all of their memories to be wiped and he knew it would be unpleasant to earn an Arceus' ire. But at least he had Rift and Oculus, his two long-time partners.

As Hugh tried his best to fend off his Fenrir mentor, he inwardly smiled as he recalled meeting his two partner pokemon. For Oculus, it was when he decided to check the mail on the day of his birthday…

 _Several years ago…_

 _Hugh's eyes snapped open, his dream forgotten and replaced with the thought of the day. It was a special day, and Hugh nearly sprung out of his bed as he realized it. "Happy birthday, Hugh!" Turning to the now open door of his room, Hugh was enveloped by a crushing hug from his mother. The boy returned the hug, smiling brightly. Hugh's father chuckled, giving his son a pat on the back when his wife relinquished the boy from her crushing embrace._

" _Happy birthday, son. Why don't you come downstairs when you're ready so we can get this day started?"_

" _Okay, Dad!" Hugh hurried over to the bathroom where he began brushing his teeth with brimming excitement. Downstairs, his mother and father were preparing the kitchen table for breakfast. Underneath the table was a single wrapped box, complete with a red ribbon with a standard white wrapping._

 _A few minutes later, Hugh came down the stairs and sat at the table with his parents. He almost didn't notice the gift underneath the table and when he did, his mother held up a finger with a smirk. "Breakfast first, then we can get to your present." Nodding enthusiastically, Hugh dug into his plate of syrup-covered pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage. Off to the side of his plate was a cupcake with a lit candle. His parents smiled, warmed by the sight of seeing their son so happy and excited for the day. The two had many things planned out for the day, including a trip to the Ruins of Alph as their son had always been interested of that place due to the stories and rumors they had heard from his uncle._

 _When breakfast was finished, and after Hugh partook in his cupcake, his mother placed the gift box on the table with a bright smile. "It's time for you to open it, go ahead."_

" _I think you'll love what's inside." his father commented with a knowing chuckle, almost confusing Hugh but the boy soon dismissed it. He didn't care, it was time for his present! Unwrapping the present as viciously as a Luxray would with its prey, Hugh quickly removed the wrapping and took of the lid. His eyes widened at the box's contents._

 _There were six empty pokeballs, complete with the starter set of potions and berries as well as a map, pokedex, and a pair of gloves. "M-Mom. Dad…" His parents got up from their seats and hugged him behind, his mother whispering to him._

" _We know how you've always wanted to go on your very own journey, and we know that we've been holding it off for quite a bit of time. It's only fair for you to start now."_

" _Your mother has already uploaded your picture and personal information into the pokedex and servers. All you need to do is to register your DNA in the pokedex and you can get going whenever you want." his father added._

 _Hugh only stared at the box's contents, shocked still. His mother gently guided his hand to the pokedex, pressing a hidden button before pricking his thumb against the needle that emerged from within. Hugh snapped out of it then, briefly spotting the needle retracting back into the pokedex while the screen lit up with an electronic image of a happy face."Welcome, Hugh!" The pokedex then began to rattle of its procedures and such, though Hugh was only paying attention to his parents as they gave him advice about the journey ahead among other things. And even after they were done talking and began preparing for the trip to the ruins, Hugh almost couldn't believe it._

 _ **I'm actually a Trainer now...I-I'm...I'm a Trainer!**_ _was about the gist of his thoughts for the rest of the morning._

 _Hugh later went outside to check the mail before he finished packing up. He saw that the flag was up, indicating that something was within. Opening the mailbox, Hugh fished out a sealed letter as well as a small box. The box read "For Hugh" on its tag and Hugh, figuring that the letter was for him as well since it was tied to the box, broke the seal and read the letter of which he realized was from his older sister._

" _Hugh,_

 _I'm sorry for not being there for your birthday. With all this Team Rocket fiasco happening all over both of the regions, there isn't much I can do when the authorities decide to have me track and take down their admins since I accidentally defeated Sleight, a Shadow Admin, the other week. And now, along with all the Team Rocket stuff, the region's actually offering me a spot to be a Gym Leader so that's another thing to add to the list of things I have to deal with._

 _Anyway, I hope you'll have a great day today! Make sure you do as the scientist guys ask when you guys go to the Ruins of Alph later! Happy birthday, Hugh! And take care of Oculus!_

 _What? Are you thinking, "Did I really just read that? Oculus? My older sister's powerful Noctowl? I can't possibly take him, it's not right!" Well, too bad! I already sent him over and I don't want to pay a fee to get him back! Don't you dare send him back unless you don't think you can take care of him, which I know you will. And how did I guess that you're a Trainer now?...Mom and Dad called me, that's how! What? I, your great older sister, actually doesn't know everything for once? I know, Hugh, shocker right?! Hehe, ok! Happy birthday again, and say "Hi!" to Mom and Dad for me!_

 _Later, bro!_

 _P.S. Oculus is gaining some weight so you mind putting him through a few exercises when you can? If you don't do anything about it, he'll get fat and have trouble with taking off to fly...or even to sustain flight. Make sure he doesn't overeat!"_

 _Wide-eyed, Hugh looked at the small box and carefully shook it._

 _There was no mistaking the sound of a minimized pokeball enlarging, as the button to trigger the activation had been depressed when the ball rolled as Hugh shook the box._

…

 _Present day…_

And then, there was that day he met Rift. As Hugh recalled the memory, he wiped his bloody nose with a quick swipe of the hand. He got distracted for a moment as he recalled his memory of obtaining Oculus and that earned him a swift punch to the nose. _And then, there's Rift…_

…

 _A few years ago, about three months into Hugh's Trainer journey…_

 _Hugh sighed as he placed the map back into his backpack. "Roxanne? I think we're lost." He could almost feel his friend's frustration radiate from her being behind him._

" _I figured when the path we were walking on kinda disappeared way back there." she replied sarcastically, though with a laugh to show that she wasn't really too bothered about it. Hugh rolled his eyes and looked up._

" _Hey, Oculus! Can you circle back and lead us to the path we were on?" The Noctowl looked down from the sky and hooted his agreement, turning around and directing Hugh and Roxanne back to the path which would lead them to the next city. "Problem solved?"_

" _Where would we be without Oculus?" Roxanne asked dramatically._

" _Probably in the belly of an Ariados three or four times over." Hugh smiled when Roxanne snorted at his statement. "Speaking of bellies, you getting hungry?" Roxanne nodded and Hugh called and signalled Oculus to come down for a break. The three sat together, snacking on some sandwiches they had packed in the last city they were in._

" _It's getting pretty hot out here." Roxanne announced as she frowned. "Really hot, I wouldn't be surprised if we started to experience mirages." And she was right, Hugh thought, it was well over 90 degrees that day and their clothes were almost soaked with their sweat. The only thing that was helping them keep cool was their calm peace of minds, for thinking about the heat will only make it hotter._

" _I'm pretty sure you only get mirages in a desert." Hugh replied._

" _Not just a desert," Roxanne shot back as she raised a finger to gesture at the sun then to her head, "anytime when your mind starts getting fried by the sun. We don't need to be in the desert to see mirages." Hugh shrugged and Roxanne smiled smugly before the two of them returned to eating._

 _It was when Hugh finished his last sandwich, he saw it. "...Maybe you're right about those mirages." Roxanne raised an eyebrow at him. "In the mood for some eggs? I'd bet we can cook some right now."_

 _Roxanne turned around to look at what he was seeing and gasped at the sight of a large egg. It was the first time either of them had ever seen a pokemon egg. To Roxanne, it was as Hugh said. An illusion. At the time, she didn't know most pokemon laid eggs, even those that seemed mammal._

 _For Hugh, it was the beginnings of a meal._

 _And so, the boy went over to it and picked it up. He smiled goofily at the egg, inspecting its surface and turning it to and fro. Maybe he mistook it for a glare of the sun, or maybe he just thought it was another illusion, but he didn't register the fact that the egg was slowing developing cracks of which glowed with a bright white light…_

 _Present day..._

The group later returned to the house; another day of promising progress of the two humans. Hugh, deciding to hold off learning the hurricanrana until maybe the next day. And so, he went and told Alpha of his decision. "Of course, there is no rush and it is not even an essential technique you need to learn. Come to me when you are ready to learn it." Alpha told him.

Leaving the kitchen, as he had been in it for some water, he spotted his two teammates conversing with one another in a corner of the living room. Oculus was managing his plumage and Rift was simply squinting at his spoon. Upon closer inspection, Hugh noticed that there was a smudge on it. Making sure his translator was on, Hugh approached the two.

"Hey, you two. What do you say we go out and get some more uses out of the VR?"

"Sounds good to me. " _If you insist, Master Hugh._ the two pokemon replied simultaneously.

 _Again with the "Master" thing._ Hugh thought, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, Rift, you can just call me by my name. We've been over this already, you don't need to be so formal and we're equals." The Alakazam nodded.

 _As you wish._ Hugh only sighed again, wondering why did he even bother.

Because both Hugh and Oculus knew that the Alakazam wouldn't stop, despite his words.

"We'll be back later, guys!" Hugh announced. He opened the door and allowed his teammates to go through first. And just before he shut the door behind him, he caught Aurora giving him a wave from the stairs as she dried her hair with a towel.

"Be sure you come back by sundown, Hugh." the Akirari said. "By the way, where's Alpha? I need to speak with him."

"Kitchen." Hugh answered, thumbing at Alpha over his shoulder after turning around. "And I know, we'll be back soon." With that, he shut the door and looked at his teammates. "Now, where to start?"

They ended up in an area some ways from the house, about a ten-minute walk's worth. They had found another clearing, this one smaller than the one just outside the house. While Hugh was standing near the edge of the clearing, Oculus was in flight above him and Rift was floating a few feet away. In the Alakazam's hand was a marble of which they had found on their travels some months before. Rift teleported away from their view, reappearing a moment later without the marble. "Alright. You ready, Oculus?" The Noctowl nodded. "Let's sync up then."

A moment later, Hugh saw through Oculus' eyes and the Noctowl abandoned his hovering state. He weaved through the trees ahead, scanning his surroundings and flew in a left-to-right sweeping pattern. _See it, Hugh?_ Oculus asked through their mental link.

 _No, and I don't think you passed it. Keep searching._ Hugh thought as he blinked. His vision returned to normal, though his eyes still retained a purple hue. Running into the foliage, he used Oculus' shared keen eyesight to try and spot the marble Rift had hidden. It was a simple exercise, sure, but it would better their use of VR. _Leave it to Rift to make this challenging._

 _I thought that was the point of this activity?_ Rift questioned from the clearing. Hugh only laughed, every now and then switching to see through Oculus before searching with his own eyes.

The three kept this up for about an hour, only finding the marble a few times due to Rift's _superb_ skill at hiding things. It indeed provided a challenge for the Noctowl and human, but they wanted to change their activity so that the Alakazam was being included as well. As they were now, the three were in the center of the clearing. Hugh was standing before Rift, Oculus was perched on a branch nearby. "So, idea." Hugh stated. When Rift didn't give any indication of responding or asking a question, he continued. "So you know how psychics usually can't teleport to places they haven't been to?"

 _Only exceptionally powerful psychics can do that, but even they have difficulty pulling it off._ Rift answered. Hugh grinned, he thought that his idea might change things a bit.

"What if we use VR and have you look through either my or Oculus' eyes and see if you can teleport to our position that way? And if we're somewhere you haven't been before?" During their time there training, the humans and the two pokemon had yet to explore the entirety of the island they were on. Hugh and Roxanne never strayed too far from the house, for they had no reason too.

Rift looked at Hugh with deep contemplation. _In theory, it can possibly work if either of you make a short scan of the surrounding area so I can get a better idea of where I'm teleporting to. We might want to try this with Oculus first, he will be in the air and will have full view of the area._ Hugh nodded, smiling at his partner's suggestion.

"Oculus!" Hugh called, the Noctowl flew over to their position instantly. "Would you mind flying about...let's work with about a mile or two away north from here?"

"What for?"

"Just testing out something." Hugh answered. "If it works, the VR can be a lot more useful if we want to get anywhere or even go stealth." Hugh was getting exciting thinking of the implications of the possible development, already imagining some scenarios where the application would fit perfectly. He looked at Oculus, sending the Noctowl a look that said "Please?" Nodding, Oculus did as he was asked. As he flew away, they synced up once more and once the Noctowl flew the proper distance, Hugh gave Rift the go-ahead when the three agreed that the area Oculus was in was new and something they didn't recognize. _Right, just sit tight there, Oculus._ "Rift, try it now."

Rift nodded, gone a moment later. Hugh waited a few more seconds before the Alicia was back. _It was unsuccessful with Oculus only seeing the path ahead of him. I ended up teleporting to an area nearby that looked very similar, not his exact position._

 _Alright, Oculus? Take an aerial scan of your spot. Maybe do a 360 check just in case._

 _Got it...Ready when you guys are._

"You're good to go, Rift." The Alakazam was gone again, reappearing nearly a second later.

 _It's a success._ Rift said with a nod. Hugh pumped a fist.

"Nice!" _Oculus, you can come back now._ "So it works! Great! Now with that done, we can safely assume that it would work with me too albeit, it'll be more limited in my case since it'd take a while for me to give you a view of the entire area. Still though..." Hugh grinned. _Oh, the possibilities! We can probably introduce this into our training and get a one-up on Alpha and Aurora!_ "..great work, Rift." The Alakazam nodded and actually gave a smile when High patted his back. Some time later, after practicing and tinkering a bit more with the teleportation, they decided to get back to the house when the felt like they were satisfied with the progress they've made.

As they neared the clearing by the house, the ground before them was suddenly impacted powerfully by something which sent up a cloud of dust and debris. "W-*cough*-What was that?!" Hugh asked as he coughed, waving his hand in an attempt to clear the dust before his eyes.

 _Master Hugh!_ In the next second, Hugh was right next to Rift and Oculus. The three of them were standing a few meters away from the dust cloud, the Alakazam and Noctowl poised for confrontation. Alert, Hugh tensed for whatever that crashed into the ground. He could faintly hear slithering, as if a snake was coming there way.

Out came, of all things he didn't expect, a Giratina. It was in its **Origin Forme** , towering above the three with a menacing glare. Hugh noticed that it had a glowing purple sigil of sorts pulsing on its upper torso. For some reason, Hugh felt ill intent from the sigil itself. _Then again, it might just be from the FRICKEN GIRATINA RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!_

 _ **Ah, human,**_ it spoke, _**are I correct to assume that you are one of two humans aiming to be Knights of Arceus?**_ The Giratina almost spat at uttering "Arceus", Hugh thought that he could hear it in the serpentine voice.

"Y-Yes?" Hugh answered, mentally telling Rift to prepare for a teleport just in case things when south. The Giratina narrowed its eyes at them at his answer, scanning the area before settling his gaze on them once again.

 _ **In that case, please make my job easier by standing still so I can kill you.**_ Then, the Giratina came forth at a frightening speed.

"Ri-!" Hugh began, though was startled at the sight of the Giratina slamming Rift into a tree with its tail.

 _ **I don't think so, human!**_ it sneered before opening its mouth. A black and red ball formed in its mouth, shrinking in size as it grew more and more focused. _**This isn't personal, human, we just can't risk you interfering.**_ Oculus performed an **Aerial Ace** at the Giratina's neck, but the attack proved ineffective as it left the Giratina unscathed. With a swipe of one of the tendrils coming from his back, Giratina sent Oculus to the ground and Hugh paled at the sickening _crunch!_

"OCULUS!" Hugh screamed, looking desperately at his other partner for help only to despair even more seeing the Alakazam unconscious. "N-No!"

 _ **Goodbye, human.**_ The Giratina said. _**Maybe when I take my place as a Legendary of the Council, we'll meet again in the Distortion World. But first things first, we need to take care of the current Council first. Until then, human.**_ Hugh closed his eyes when the Giratina let loose the beam it had been charging, the area around them becoming cold due to the dark attack.

…

 _ **With Oculus…**_

 _No...Hugh.._ Oculus thought as he weakly looked up from his place on the ground. It pained him to even move his head, as his entire body was sore and he was pretty sure one of his ribs was broken due to the Giratina's last attack. He struggled to get up, but to no avail. His wings felt glued to the ground and his body was suddenly lead. _Hugh! Please, no!_

And, as Giratina released his attack on Hugh, Oculus can already feel his perception of the world dimming. The Noctowl felt that he failed, that he failed Hugh and the human's older sister. What good was a friend like him who couldn't even protect his partner? Of whom, was practically a brother to him now? Oculus felt his heart wrench as the dark beam closed its distance between itself and Hugh before making contact…

Oculus then snapped his eyes open as the tree to his right exploded into splinters, the wood chips showering his body like that of a rainy day. Slowly looking up again, Oculus nearly hopped for joy (even though doing so would probably give him some more immense pain) at the sight of the two Legendaries before them. Standing with Rift over her shoulder was Aurora, and she was holding the arm of Hugh. The human was unscathed. In front of Aurora, standing with a smoking arm, was Alpha. _He probably deflected the blast!_ Oculus thought.

Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted and the next thing he knew, Alpha was carefully handing him to Aurora who encased Oculus' body in a soothing, golden sphere. "Go, Lady Akirari, take them _there_." the Fenrir said. Oculus saw Aurora nod and immediately took off in a run, pulling along Hugh and still carrying both himself and Rift.

"Wait! We're just going to leave him there?!" Hugh asked. Oculus felt like voicing his opinion as well, though found that he was still too weak to do so.

"I'll go back when we get you three to safety. When I drop you off, I'll go pick up Roxanne from the house and drop her off at the cave as well and the four of you will remain there until both me and Alpha come back."

As they neared what seemed to be a hill, Hugh asked, "What did that Giratina attack us? What was the point in trying to kill me?" Oculus wondered that as well. Why would a Legendary want to kill a Knight of Arceus?

"And Roxanne." Aurora said as they slowed to a stop. "As for why, did you see the purple sigil on him?" Hugh nodded and Aurora let him go. She then walked over to the side of the hill and waved her hand, revealing a large cave previously hidden by an illusion. Oculus guessed that Alpha was the one who had somehow casted it. "Get in."

Hugh walked inside the cave, turning around to see Oculus being placed gently on the ground. The Noctowl was actually starting to feel better ever since Aurora enveloped him in the golden sphere which was still present. Next to him, Oculus saw Rift being leaned up against the cave wall. "What about that purple sigil?"

"He's part of a faction of Legendaries against the Arceus' rule. They want to take over the Hall of Origins for themselves, and they haven't made a move in years until just earlier when he tried to kill you."

"But why try to kill me? I'm just a human!"

"Those who become Knights of Arceus have the potential to become very powerful on a Legendary level, Hugh. They didn't want you or Roxane possibly get in the way." Standing up, Aurora turned around and walked out of the cave after casting something similar to the golden orb around Oculus. He saw that the Alakazam was encased in the same golden glow. "I'll be back soon to drop off Roxanne. Remember, stay hidden." The Akirari then waved a hand and their view of her became obscured by dirt and little bits of grass.

 _Thank Arceus for her and Alpha..._ Oculus thought before looking over at Hugh who was looking over him and Rift in concern. _Because of them, he's safe…._ Oculus then finally gave in to his fatigue and lost consciousness.

…

 _ **With Aurora…**_

After explaining everything to Roxanne and dropping her off at the cave, Aurora sped her way to where she'd last saw Alpha and the Giratina. It didn't take much to find them, for she followed the explosions and dust clouds that went up to the sky. When she got there, she took note of the new craters in the ground as well as several destroyed trees, some burning with black flames. _**Are they safe?**_ Aurora quickly snapped her attention to her right, spotting Alpha grappling with Giratina who was now in his **Altered Forme**. Alpha himself was in his true form and the Fenrir was snapping at the invading Legendary's neck. The Akirari almost shivered at the sound of Alpha's sudden change in voice of which was drastically more stern and cold than it usually was. It was most likely due to the Giratina in their midst.

Changing into her true form as well, Aurora bared her fangs at the Giratina as she answered the Fenrir. _Yes, they're in hiding and I made sure to tell them not to come out until we get back._

She ran over to the grappling Legendaries to support the Fenrir, the latter had just received a point-blank **Shadow Ball** to the muzzle from the Giratina but amazingly held fast. Seeing Aurora approaching, Alpha slackened his limbs a bit which allowed Giratina to take dominance and roll to be on top with the grapple.

 _ **Ha! Is that all you've got, mutt?**_ the Giratina mocked right before Aurora rammed into his side at full speed. He was sent rolling through a few trees before finally stopping when he crashed into a boulder.

 _Convenient boulder._ Aurora thought as Alpha right himself, seemingly unscathed for the most part. _So, how are we going to handle him?_

 _ **We will move to flank him.**_ Alpha answered as Giratina groaned, uprooting a tree with a swipe of a paw as he got back up. _**He cannot hope to hold off the two of us at once, especially since his speed is much lower in his current forme.**_ He glanced at Aurora. _**I will attack him from the left.**_

 _Got it._ Aurora replied. With that, the two Legendaries dashed over to the Giratina. Aurora closed in on his right, preparing an **Ice Fang**. She spotted Alpha leaping and tucking into a roll in midair, slashing the Giratina's back as the Fenrir sailed over. When Alpha landed, he quickly turned to face the invader. While Giratina was distracted with the Fenrir, Aurora moved to the opposite side and attacked, biting down on the Renegade Pokemon's neck in the same spot Alpha had. Ice spread from the bite area as Giratina roared in agony, flailing his neck around to try and dislodge Aurora who kept her feet planted firmly to the ground. _Submit to us now!_

 _ **Never, you bitch!**_ the Giratina roared before becoming transparent and sinking into the ground. Aurora, surprised by the sudden move, almost tripped before regaining her balance.

 _Where did the sneaky bastard go?_ Aurora asked, looking around.

 _ **It's his signature move, Shadow Force. Be mindful, the attack will still land if you were to use a defensive move like Protect.**_ Alpha answered for her. _**Take flight, I know how to deal with this.**_ Not questioning him, Aurora flapped her wings once and took to the skies. She saw the Fenrir take a step forward before dissipating into nothing in a cloud of black matter.

 _Did you just-?_ she tried to ask as she felt him reaching out to her mentally.

 _ **He is not the only master manipulator of the shadows.**_ Aurora had to shake her head again, for Alpha's voice, as deep and cold as it was, echoed in her head. It wouldn't be so bad had it not been for the feeling of being prey that came along with it. _**I have him.**_ Aurora watched the ground, seeing two barely perceptible shadows darting around from underneath. One shadow was thicker than the other, Aurora figuring it to be the Giratina. Both her and Alpha were large for Legendaries, though the Giratina species trumped most Legendaries in size.

 _If I want to be honest, this is kind of freaky to watch._ Aurora thought as she watched Alpha's shadow "strike" the Giratina's multiple times in succession. The Giratina's shadow darted away, only to be caught by Alpha's shadow and "dragged" back. Alpha's shadow then proceeded to resume its attack on the other. There were a few times where the Giratina's shadow got a few attacks in, though it didn't seem to do much to its opponent for Alpha's shadow continued to move much fluidly and without loss of speed.

Aurora wondered if there was anything she could do to help. Perhaps, she could send a beam of Light at Giratina's shadow? Would that earn her a favorable result? Shaking her head and deciding to scrap the idea, the Akirari continued to ponder on it and made sure she didn't hover too close to the ground in case the Giratina decided to snag her.

There were a few times when she heard a roar that resembled that of a leviathan, the roars would echo from the ground and cause small-scale earthquakes. Fortunately, it did not get much more violent than that so she didn't worry about the cave the others were hiding in collapsing. The small earthquakes would shift some rocks in the cave at most, but nothing life-threatening.

Several minutes later from that thought, the Giratina resurfaced. His body was covered in gashes and cuts, as well as some vicious bite wounds. He was bleeding moderately, which surprised Aurora. She had thought that the Fenrir would want to kill the invader. _***pant...pant* Damn him!**_ the Giratina cursed as Aurora landed, the danger of the **Shadow Force** gone.

Alpha resurfaced the moment she touched down, sporting some cuts along his muzzle and a chunk of flesh missing from his side. Despite the injuries, the Fenrir didn't seem to be affected much and continued his advance towards the Giratina. _**This is your last chance to submit. Do so, or we will be forced to make you comply.**_ the Fenrir warned, emotionless.

 _ **Over my dead body!**_ the Giratina exclaimed as he turned around and barreled into Aurora. Aurora growled as they rolled, the two snapping at each other. Trying to beat him in the head with her wings, Aurora struggled getting the Giratina off her. At the same time, she constantly shifted her head to the side in order to avoid the stabbing attacks the Giratina's tendrils were giving.

 _That can-_ Aurora headbutted the dragon-like being, earning a groan from the Giratina. _-certainly be arranged._ At that moment, the Giratina charged a **Hyper Beam** and aimed it at her. Aurora struggled to shove him off but saw Alpha doing something off to the side.

 _ **Looks like you're the one who's going to end up in the ground!**_ the Giratina taunted as he released his **Hyper Beam.** Luckily, Aurora managed to bat at his head at the last possible moment with a paw and the powerful attack only managed to skim her shoulder. _**I won't miss next time!**_ Charging another **Hyper Beam** , the Giratina prepared to release it again before he suddenly closed his mouth, the attack canceling. Roaring in agony and spewing forth curses violent enough to make a sailor blush, he rolled off Aurora whilst clawing at his side. Rolling to her feet as well, Aurora widened her eyes at what ailed him.

The Giratina's side was being eaten away, turned to nothing. Tendrils of shadow tore away and consumed his flesh at a gradual rate. Eventually, Aurora thought, the shadows would hit bone and she didn't want to imagine how agonized the Giratina's screams would be. _**Are you ready to submit now?**_ Looking at the Fenrir, Aurora spotted the traces of what she assumed to be Void flowing about in wisps around his muzzle. _**Submit, and I will cease your suffering.**_

 _ **N-Never!**_ the Giratina gasped as he tried to move away, only to crumple to the ground when the dark tendrils on his side quickened their ministrations with more ferocity. _**ARRRRGH!**_ The Giratina wailed as he tried to recover, but couldn't.

 _ **We gave you a few chances and tried not to injure you too much.**_ Alpha said, giving a cold stare into the Giratina's eyes. The latter's movements slowed to a stop, occasionally twitching due to the pain or shivering at the Fenrir's visage. _**Are you ready to submit?**_ Alpha asked once more. And for some reason, Aurora thought, she knew that he wouldn't ask again and that the Giratina would no longer be should he refuse to submit.

 _ **I-**_ the Giratina began as he clenched his eyes shut, groaning and holding in his screams at the pain consuming his side. _**I...I surrender.**_ Faster than a blink of an eye, the dark tendrils eating away at the Giratina's side vanished though the damage done was irreparable. Aurora winced at the sight of his side, for it was bleeding profusely and dripped at the torn flesh. The white of what she assumed to be at the bottom or side of his lower ribs showed. The entire consumed area was about the size of an average pie, resembling a very large and major gash.

 _Great, now I can't eat pie without thinking of that._ Aurora thought as Alpha approached the Giratina. He raised a flame-enveloped paw and without any warning, pressed it against several areas of the wound. The Giratina cursed loudly though held in his scream as Alpha cauterized the wound, stopping the bleeding. It did not do much though, as the Giratina was surely still gravely injured in that area.

 _ **That is so you will last a bit longer while we question you.**_ Alpha stated coldly, stepping back. He flicked his paws, the blood flinging off to the ground. He then sharply shook his back to the side, the Giratina's blood on the blade-like protrusions splattering against a tree. Sitting on his haunches, Alpha glanced over at Aurora. _**Lady Akirari is of the Council so she will question you. You are to answer each of her questions truthfully and without deceit or any omission. Should I suspect deception or hesitation from you...**_ Alpha's paw became enveloped in Void before he flicked it, sending a small droplet-sized ball of Void to Giratina's neck. The Renegade Pokemon whimpered as it ate away at the outer layers of his neck before dissipating. Aurora winced at though, almost raising a paw to clutch at her neck as a reaction. Nodding frantically, the Giratina lowered his head as a sign of compliance. _**You may question him now, Lady Akirari.**_ Aurora nodded, walking over and sitting before the Giratina with a cold stare.

There goes relaxing for rest of the day.


	6. Chapter 6

**XD Sorry guys if you got the email that we posted a new chapter and checked only to see that it wasn't there. We accidentally posted it before leaving our notes and NAMING the chapter! Anyway, told you guys that this chapter would come out soon to make up for our lateness. So this chapter won't be as...developing? as the last chapter, but it will reveal some things. It's slightly shorter than usual too so sorry for those who prefer longer chapters XD**

 **We have no spotlight-ed fanfic of the week this week, we haven't gotten to reading anything so we're sorry if you wanted to see what we thought would be something great to read into.**

 **Shoutouts to YourTypicalReader for favoriting/following/adding!**

 **On to the chapter now. Read, review (if you'd like), and enjoy! Also, we don't mind criticism or flames so whatever thoughts you have on the fanfic so far, just pm or leave it in a review for us! We read every single one we get!**

 **Chapter 6: So what now?**

 _ **With Roxanne…**_

"You think they're alright?" Roxanne asked them, reaching out to touch the dirt wall before her. It was supposed to be the entrance of the cave, but the illusion made it look otherwise as if there were no way to get inside. Behind her, Hugh and Oculus were seated against the wall. Rift was finally awake, though he found that it was a struggle to move around so like the other two, he kept to the cave wall.

"I'm sure they are." Hugh answered.

"Yeah, it's two against one Legendary, right? They'll be back." Oculus agreed, Roxanne almost forgetting that she had her translator on.

"Yeah…" Roxanne clenched her fist, her other hand occupied with rubbing some strands of her hair as an act of nervousness. "It just sucks that we can't do anything! All that training we've had so far for what? Just to stand by on the sidelines while the two of them risks their lives for us?" She let out a frustrated sigh. "We don't even know what's going on out there. Sure, they might be all good since it's two verses one, but what if something goes wrong? How are we supposed to know or go help?"

"We can only trust them to come back right now, Roxanne."

"..Yeah, I know…"

The four of them waited and waited, occasionally getting up to reposition themselves in the cave. It felt like hours of waiting to Roxanne even though it had been only perhaps twenty minutes since they were dropped off at the cave, she wasn't _that_ patient. The worry was getting to her too, her two friends were out there fighting a rogue Legendary without any support. _DAMN IT ALL!_ She began pacing back and forth, sometimes reaching towards the cave entrance though every time, she'd withdraw her arm because Aurora had specifically ordered them to stay hidden there.

Eventually, she sat down. Her frustration almost overflowing, Roxanne decided to close her eyes and took several deep breaths. She kept her breaths even and rhythmic and in several minutes, her nerves were almost completely calmed and the tension in her muscles nearly nonexistent. The two Legendaries had taught them how to meditate when necessary, and Roxanne had to admit at that moment, it was effective. And with her thoughts calm instead of running rampant as it had been earlier, Roxanne finally came to a decision as she opened her eyes and faced Hugh.

"Hugh, let's get out there and hel-."

 _ **Your four may leave the cave now.**_ Roxanne gave a small _eep!,_ startled at the sudden voice. Turning around, she leapt back at the unexpected appearance of Alpha whose head was partially through the false wall. _**We have him secured, Aurora is questioning him as we speak.**_ Trying to ignore the dark tone his voice had taken, as it was colder and more...baleful even though she knew he'd do no harm towards them, Roxanne sighed and happily approached the Fenrir.

"Wait, so Aurora's alone with him? What if he attacks her?" Hugh asked.

 _ **She can handle herself if such a thing happens. However, there is no need to worry. I rid him of his will to attack, he is no longer a threat.**_ Smiling, Hugh uttered a silent "Thank Arceus." _**Come now, we need to-.**_

He froze. Why, Roxanne had no clue. _Wait a minutes, it's probably my fault._ she thought. Roxanne looked up from Alpha's chest (as the Fenrir was large in size and towered over her) and smiled at him, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck in an embrace. "We're glad that you two are okay, we were really worried." Roxanne almost raised an eyebrow as Alpha stared at her, apparently lost as to why she was embracing him. As if he couldn't understand what was happening at that moment. "We need to…?" she supplied.

Blinking, Alpha continued. _**We need to get back to her. Although I am certain that the Giratina is no longer a threat, it is better to be safe than sorry.**_ The illusionary dirt wall disappeared as Roxanne released him from her embrace. Turning around, Alpha stretched his wings. As he did that, Roxanne looked at the other three only to be bewildered at their expressions.

Hugh and Oculus looked awed for some reason, while Rift was impassive as usual. "What?" she mouthed.

"You _hugged_ him?" Hugh mouthed back, as if what she did made history. Roxanne wondered what was the fuss about and shrugged, nodding before mouthing back her reply.

"And? I'm glad they're okay." She then turned back around, her eyes widening as Alpha lowered himself to the ground.

 _ **The battle took us farther than the spot the Giratina had first emerged. Flying there will be faster.**_ The two humans looked at each other, paling at the thought of flying without some sort of securement. The Fenrir glanced at them over his shoulder. _**Oculus, Rift, if the two of your are still unable to move, I would suggest having Hugh return the two of you to your pokeballs.**_ The two said pokemon nodded, though Hugh only returned Oculus.

"Uh, I think I'll sit out on flying. Rift, do you think you'll be able to teleport me over there?" The Alakazam nodded, then Hugh gave Roxanne and Alpha a sheepish chuckle.

"So.." Roxanne returned her attention to Alpha. "I just sit on your back?" _I really don't want to fall to my death, I have so many years ahead of me to live!_ She noticed Alpha's right eyeridge twitch and almost slapped a hand over her mouth. _Did you hear that?_

 _ **Be mindful of the blades in my back.**_ was his response, and Roxanne could've sworn that he sounded amused. Hearing Hugh snicker, Roxanne carefully lifted a leg over Alpha's back before it rested at his side while she raised herself up, using the Fenrir's shoulders as a support. The manner of which she did so was actually similar to one mounting a horse. Roxanne was careful not to cut her legs with the blades in Alpha's back, though she was surprised that there was actually enough space for her legs to fit in between his sides and the blades. _**You should hold on to the spikes on either side of my neck.**_ Alpha suggested.

Roxanne did so, clutching the two large spikes that were protruding from Alpha's chest with her hands. "Uh, I'm ready, I guess." she said. Nodding, Alpha gestured for Hugh to go with a paw. Hugh understood the gesture and in the next second, he and Oculus were gone.

 _ **We are taking off now.**_ With that, Roxanne's body lurched back as Alpha took off in a running start. She felt the muscles in his back flex right before he leapt into the air and took flight, his wings causing gales of air as they flew towards the area Aurora and the Giratina were.

 _This is actually not that bad._ Roxanne thought to herself, feeling herself beginning to smile. She felt the air rush around her as Alpha maneuvered them through and around turbulence without effort. The flight did not last long though, as they were only in the air for not even five minutes. When they landed, Roxanne slid off the Fenrir and spotted Aurora sitting on her haunches. Her eyes widened at the wounded Giratina on the floor next to the Akirari, noting the numerous bite wounds, slashes, and a large...burn?

 _ **How much information did you manage to get from him?**_ Alpha asked Aurora.

 _A lot, actually._ Aurora narrowed her eyes at the Giratina. _I'll have to go to the Hall of Origins soon to report this. But what will we do with him? Bring him to the Hall of Origins too?_

 _ **Neither Lord nor Lady Arceus would want to deal with the work concerning him. They would have to call a trail revolving around him and go through several hours just to have all of the Council to agree that he is not innocent.**_

 _True…_

Roxanne watched Alpha glance at the Giratina. The Giratina cowered at the cold stare the Fenrir gave him, cowering even more with Alpha's next words. _**In any case, it does not where he will go. He is a threat to Lord and Lady Arceus and it is in my jurisdiction to eliminate any possible threats to them.**_

 _ **Wait! No, don't you want to keep me in case I remember more information?**_ the Giratina desperately asked as Alpha approached. _**You can't kill me, not when I may have crucial information!**_

 _ **I doubt that you have any more to tell us.**_ Alpha replied calmly. _**Either way, you are still a threat and Lady Akirari is satisfied that the information you have given us will do well to help us. And besides,**_ Alpha reached the Giratina and lowered his head to meet the Renegade Pokemon at eye-level, _**I am certain there are more of you. If there is any more information, we can always get it out of them.**_ With that, Alpha opened his mouth and blasted the Giratina in the face with a ball of Void.

As the Giratina wailed in agony, the Void eating away hungrily at his flesh and spreading, Aurora nodded at Alpha. _I'll leave to report to them right now. Is that alright with you?_

 _ **Do what you need to do.**_ Alpha answered, neither of them paying attention to the dying Giratina. Roxanne was only looking on with horror and slightly morbid fascination. The Void eventually did away with the Giratina's head entirely before his body separated into two at the neck. The Void spread all over the two parts, the head being consumed completely first and by that time, only the lower torso of the corpse remained. A few moments later, nothing remained of the Giratina save a few disintegrating bits of dark matter. _**You should not need to worry about evidence, correct?**_

 _They can look into my memories of what happened._ Aurora answered as she spread her wings. _I'll be back as soon as I can, guys. Take care until then._ Roxanne watched the Akirari take to the skies where a portal opened up before the Legendary disappeared through it. The portal vanished soon after. Roxanne then looked at where the Giratina used to be, the spot now devoid of any evidence that the Renegade Pokemon was there.

"What now?" she asked, the Fenrir glancing at her as he responded.

 _Now,_ and at this, Roxanne noted how his tone had changed back to the one she was used to hearing, _we go back to whatever we were doing. We'll take the day off tomorrow._ Roxanne shifted her gaze to Hugh's partners. _Despite the fact that they are still standing and their recovery process is being quickened, it would not be wise to put them through stress in training. Unless, of course, you two would like to train without them._

"I think I'll take the break, I need to watch them in case they strain themselves like kids." Hugh replied jokingly. Oculus looked at the human indignantly, to which Hugh only responded with a laugh. Rift simply turned away, not bothering to give a reaction to Hugh's statement.

 _And you, Roxanne?_ Roxanne sighed, rolling her eyes before walking up to the Fenrir.

"Yeah, sure." Roxanne then lifted a finger and of all things to do with it, she poked his snout. "Boop. Call me Roxy, Alpha. Hugh can get away with that since he's used to calling me by my full name since we were kids." she stated. _Oh my-Look at his face! That's so priceless!_ She held in her laughter at the Fenrir's bewildered expression, his brow raised and eyes blankly blinking. Behind them, she could hear Hugh snickering. She even heard Oculus give small hoots of amusement. Alpha looked around, as if he was searching for something all of a sudden. Roxanne smiled, thinking that his current behavior was similar to that of a lost pu- _Wait, no way I'm imagining him as that._

 _If you really would like for me to call you that, then so be it._ Alpha finally said after he recomposing himself.

"Say it with my nickname in a sentence, please." Alpha's ears twitched, though it was only with the barest of movement. Roxanne struggled to keep her shoulders still, continuing to hold in her laughter as she gestured for the Fenrir to go on. Alpha simply exhaled softly, a sliver of dark smoke escaping his nostrils.

 _I shall call you by your nickname from now on_ -Roxanne sent him an arch look when he lingered at the end of his statement.- _...Roxy._ Roxanne smiled.

"See? That wasn't so hard, right?" Alpha's left eye almost twitched. Unbeknownst to her, her words were very similar to those of a certain goddess of pokemon.

…

 _ **With Jeanne…**_

 _How are the current state of things, Sir Algers?_ Jeanne asked, amused at the irritation emanating from the one on the other end of the astral contact. Suddenly, the one she was talking to cursed after a small shout of pain. After uttering a stream of curses, he ended his tirade and apologized to the Arceus for his use of language before her before cursing again after another shout of pain. _I see that you're currently in a...colorful situation._

" _Colorful" as in more red stains on my bloody armor, then yes, Milady. And no pun intended._ The armor-clad anthropomorphic Umbreon was apparently in the middle of a small skirmish, it was him against a small group of what seemed to be a very large spider from the looks of the thick webbing wrapped around his waist. " _Why won't you just die, you miserable cunt!"_ Jeanne waited several moments as the Knight defended himself against a spray of lava.

 _I think I came at a bad time, I'll leave you to your duties._ Jeanne said when the Umbreon managed to free himself from the tail and took a short breather. He shook his head, waving his hand in a random direction since he could not see her.

" _No, no, I just haven't had anything to eat yet. My stomach's as empty as a haunted mansion, yeah, but that'll be fixed when I go home and throw the pizza I ordered-_ The Umbreon sidestepped to avoid the spider's stabbing leg and swung an unusual dagger. Strangely, the spider leg could no longer move and when the Umbreon swung his dagger back, the spider leg became lacerated before crumpling up as if it was being crushed. It then combusted, the resulting gore dripped off from the air and glistened along an invisible straight line. When the Umbreon flicked his dagger, the invisible line slackened and was gone as the gore splattered on the ground. The Knight smirked as he continued talking. _-in the cooker. Excuse me, sorry. HA! HOW'S THAT, YOU UGLY WHORE?! BLOODY HELL, AND I THOUGHT YOUR MOTHER WAS THE WITCH OF IZA-WHATEVER THE HELL IT'S CALLED!_ " Whatever he was fighting, it seemed that his last comment struck a nerve and the spider being screamed at him. For some reason, it sounded eerily human. " _Oi, mate!"_ Nyx turned around glared pointedly at another armor-clad person, though this individual was not of Jeanne's ranks. " _Get your Hollowed arse up and distract her for me for a bit, would ya?"_

 _So the only reason why you're having trouble is because you're fighting on an empty stomach?_ Jeanne asked him when he signaled that they were good to talk, he had done so by giving her a thumbs-up though to any onlooker, it seemed as if he was giving the gesture to the boulder in front of him.

" _That's right. Like I said, going to throw the pizza in the cooker later."_

 _After you slay the monster, yes?_

" _Right, how else?"_ The Umbreon and Arceus shared a laugh. " _So, are you just checking up to see little ol' me or has there been a change of plans?"_ Jeanne nodded her head.

 _The former, it has been a while since I last checked in on you. I wanted to make sure you're still fit for duty._ The Arceus noted the spider monster crawl into view, the monster actually being a upper half of a woman, a nude one at that, and anything below the woman's upper half was the body of a spider. Charming.

" _Well as you can see, I'm still kicking."_ The Umbreon ducked his head as the other knight somehow tricked the monster into ramming the wall on the opposite end of the cave they were in. Some debris trickled onto the Umbreon, but he didn't seem to care much. " _You look well."_

 _I am._ Jeanne let out a soft chuckle.

" _How's Sis doing? Is she still training the newb-Ah, BUGGER!"_ He ducked again as a ball of fire soared past where his head had been previously. Making sure his head wasn't singed, he looked back at his companion and the monster. " _Oi! Was that you or her?!..Don't give me that look, you blighter, I know you're a pyro!...Right, right, you're battling and you need to concentrate...Damn, mate, you can time your rolls."_ Turning back to Jeanne, he sighed. " _He's a silent mate, but he knows how to fight like children and their candy."_

After shaking her head, Jeanne answered his earlier question. _Lady Akirari is doing fine, Sir Algers, and yes. She is still training my newest recruits._ Jeanne paused for a second. _Actually, her presence has just arrived here. She is most likely here to report in...Yes, she's headed this way._

" _Ah, Sis. Ever the hard worker."_ They waited and several moments later, Aurora walked into the small chamber after permission from Jeanne. The Arceus noted Aurora's grim expression and frowned.

 _What's wrong, Lady Akirari?_

" _Wait, is she there?" the Umbreon Knight asked before smiling. "Hey, Sis! As you can see, shit's hitting the fan for us here!"_ Aurora smiled and rolled her eyes at her pseudo-brother.

 _Hey, Nyx! Miss you, lil' bro!_ she called, ignoring formality at the moment.

" _Hey, get this, Sis!"_ the Umbreon Knight, Nyx, exclaimed. " _See my mate fighting the bloody spider-lady? So we're constantly coming these loot chests, yeah, and there's not one time where he HASN'T struck one with a sword before checking what's inside. Kind of makes you wonder, yeah?"_

 _Well obviously, Nyx,_ Aurora said with a smirk, _there's a reason why he does that. Maybe there are loot chests that are trapped in that dimension?_ Jeanne, keeping her expression neutral, smiled inwardly at the exchange. She knew _exactly_ why Nyx's companion strike loot chests at the sight of one. Though, deciding to keep it to herself, Jeanne simply nodded in agreement to Aurora's suggestion. Nyx shrugged.

" _I don't know, Sis. But whatever the reason is, we haven't encountered it yet. I'll be sure to let you know when I figure it out."_ Turning around, Nyx winced as his companion was blasted back by a ball of fire. " _Damn. Well, got to go, Sis. See you soon, yeah? You too, Milady."_ He bowed, presumably at Jeanne, and waved at Aurora (he was still bowing and waving at the boulder) before the image of him faded away, leaving the Akirari and Arceus alone.

Turning to Jeanne, Aurora became serious. _Lady Arceus, an agent of the Hands of Vengeance attacked us earlier. More specifically, his targets were Hugh and Roxanne._ Jeanne frowned. _He also had THE sigil._

Jeanne could hear the capitals in Aurora's last statement, instantly knowing what the Akirari was talking about. _So they've finally acted?_ The Arceus beckoned Aurora to follow as she left the scrying chamber. Jeanne led them to another chamber, her personal one in fact. Darko, her mate, was there sifting through contracts and the like.

The male Arceus, unlike Jeanne, was dark grey and black in color. He lacked the multiple plates floating around the ring around his center, though he didn't seem to care much for the fact. Jeanne knew why though, for it was due to a disorder that left him permanently infused to his Dark Plate, without being able to use other Type-plates. Aside from that, he still retained just about the same abilities Jeanne had.

He had his back turned to them when they entered, but turned around when Jeanne prodded one of his hind legs. _Good evening, you two._ he said wearily, storing the papers away in a cabinet in the corner of the chamber. _What seems to be the problem?_ Jeanne figured that he could probably tell due to their expressions.

 _The Shadowed Saints attacked two of our newest recruits._ Darko narrowed his eyes. _Lady Akirari, why don't you explain what happened?_ Jeanne watched Aurora nod and sit on her haunches, her expression never changing from being Stern.

 _..._

 _Please thank him for doing so._ Darko sighed with relief, Jeanne sharing the same sigh and mentally noting to thank the Fenrir herself. _I'd rather not deal with the extra work concerning the rogue Giratina and all._

 _He did mention that bringing him back would mean a trial among other things for you._ Aurora nodded.

 _A trail that would last several hours minimum, as you know._ Jeanne said. _And that's not including the time it'd take to make a decision what to do with him after. And you're sure that he gave you all of the information he had?_

 _His life was in our hands, Milady, if he held back anything, Lord Fenrir would have noticed and killed him if I didn't notice myself._ Aurora turned her attention to Darko. _Is there enough information to work with?_

Jeanne saw her mate frown. And if she knew him well, that frown meant that he had several ideas at the least in mind. Darko looked at her, Jeanne translating it as a silent question to which she nodded to in agreement for she knew what he wanted to ask.

 _I believe it is satisfactory, I have several connections that can look into the Shadowed Saints and track their movements. For now, we should not act. They don't know for sure whether or not we know of their attack so we should make the calm between us last as long as possible as we come up with a solution or counter to their motives._

Jeanne and Aurora agreed with him. The former knew that if the S.S. figure out that it was them responsible for their Giratina assailant not coming back to report, the S.S. couldn't do anything about it anyway since a direct attack would incite a war between the Legendaries and those of the Council and the rogues who were somewhat smaller in number. Such a war would result in losses on both sides and would not prove beneficial in any way to the S.S. _Anything else to report, Lady Akirari?_ Jeanne asked. Said Akirari shook her head. _Come with me then, we'll be seeing Lord Uxie to record your encounter with the assassin in case you possibly missed anything._

Aurora nodded and stepped out of the chamber, Jeanne following close though turned to Darko before leaving. _Be sure to discuss anything you may discover about this attack or any other ideas you may have with me when we're done._

 _Of course, dear, I'd love your company._ With a smile, Jeanne caught up to Aurora.

They went to a different chamber a little ways down a hallway, a Uxie floating inside waiting for them. Jeanne had contacted him to prepare for the scan when she, Aurora, and Darko were talking earlier. When Jeanne nodded for the Uxie to begin the mental scan before turning around as Aurora closed her eyes-for looking into the Uxie's open eyes was incredibly dangerous-she smiled to herself. _He's prompt, he'd show up on time no matter what the time._ Jeanne thought, noting to herself to give the Uxie some sort of reward for his services sometime later.

 _It is done._ the Uxie stated several minutes later. Jeanne turned back around and Aurora opened her eyes when the Uxie let them know that he had closed his. _It does not seem to be tampered with and from what I saw, she did not leave anything out from her retelling._ The Uxie then faced Jeanne. _About the incident…_

 _You are not to say a word of it to any of the Council nor to any other Legendary._ Jeanne said sternly. The small floating Legendary before her nodded.

 _Of course, Milady._ He then bowed to Aurora, dismissing himself and leaving Jeanne and Aurora alone. Jeanne sighed tiredly as she floated to the floor of the chamber, sitting down and shaking her head with a sigh. She felt Aurora sitting down next to her and looked at the Akirari with a wan smile.

 _I really wish it didn't happen, it's now another thing to add on our growing list of concerns._ Jeanne remarked with a chuckle. Aurora joined in and their laughter grew before settling down a few minutes later.

 _Well, you are the current Arceus in charge along with Darko. At least you two have each other for support and can divide up the work load._

 _True._ Jeanne smiled. _But the stress is all the same. Want to take over my position for a while?_ the Arceus joked with another chuckle.

 _No thanks, I see how much work is piling down your shoulders, and of course I'll help you lighten the load, but there's no way I'm going to take on all that work by myself!_ was the joking reply.

…

 _ **With Rift…**_

It was the next day and they were all in the house still, which confused Rift. Why weren't they training already? At that current moment in time, they would probably being starting their warm up stretches right after finishing the distanced run. The Alakazam frowned. His master, Hugh, as well as Roxanne, would always look close to straining themselves with the exercises. But, Rfit thought as he eyed the Fenrir and Akirari standing in the center of the living room in front of the tv, the four of them would have to trust that the two Legendaries would not overwork them.

"You four are all having a day off today, so three days of break this week." Aurora announced as Rift and the others seated themselves. The four looked at the Legendaries in alarm, wondering if the Akirari and Fenrir were joking. But when Aurora didn't say anything further, adding to the fact that Alpha wasn't disagreeing with her, they found that it was not a joke at all.

"You guys are serious?" Roxanne's question sounded more like a statement, with skepticism lacing her tone. "Hey, Alpha, you're not going to suddenly turn around and make us train later?" Rift shied away as the Fenrir spoke, still floating with his legs crossed. He settled next to his master who gave him an acknowledging smile. Rift almost returned one of his own, though reminded himself to remain professional.

"No, there really is no training today. Do whatever you want to your leisure, as you are still recovering from yesterday's attack." Rfit almost sighed in relief. He didn't want to try breaking through the dark barrier the Fenrir would put around his spoons for training. It would take Rift so much concentration to keep the barrier from spreading all over the spoon, and even more concentration trying to break through the barriers which were practically immune to his psychic prowess. "If you ask us to train, we will deny your request so do not bother trying to do so." Alpha then began to walk away as Aurora smiled at the group. "Do not worry, the intensity will double tomorrow to make up for it."

"I _knew_ there was a catch!" Hugh yelled as Roxanne simply rolled her eyes at the Legendaries.

"He's just joking, guys." Aurora reassured.

"That was his attempt at joking? Well, at least he was trying." Hugh said with a snicker, Aurora and Roxanne joining in. Oculus cawed his laughter as well, not caring how strange it sounded in the slightest. Rift shook his head at their laughter, wondering why he was the only one there save for Alpha to take things seriously...even though they took everything seriously.

"Hey, you guys up for Cianwood Beach?" Aurora asked. Rift immediately remembered the time he had spent there with his master and their team as well as with Roxanne. It was where they earned their fifth badge, if he recalled correctly. Rift remembered how fierce the Gym Trainers and their partners were, the Gym Leader even more so. Though, it was nothing Rift couldn't handle. After all, throw a bit of psychic flair into a Fighting-type's path and the job should be a wee bit easier.

It was then Rift registered what Aurora had just said fully. Cianwood _Beach_? Sure, he remembered stepping on the sand and feeling the breeze carry mist from the water as they made their way around the city to the Gym. But that was it. Well, aside from spending a couple nights there as well to rest up before continuing their journey.

The Akirari and the two humans began talking excitedly. Shrugging inwardly, not really caring about the place, he floated over to the door and stepped-actually using his feet-outside. He felt Oculus flying over his head. "Where you going, Rift?" the Noctowl cawed.

 _Somewhere to meditate._ The answer was obvious, to be honest, for Rift did little to nothing else. He'd read some scrolls Aurora would procured for him every once and awhile seeing as he rather liked those sort of things, and train as well, though he mostly kept to himself or followed his master around in case Hugh needed help or advice with anything.

"Mind if I come along and ask you a few things?" The Noctowl made Rift smile on the inside, it was gratifying that Oculus would come to him most of the time if he ever needed anything, or had any questions. It was always like that, actually. Aside from their bond with Hugh, their friendship was possibly the greatest in Hugh's entire team. "Close friends" wouldn't even begin to describe their relationship, for they were more like brothers. Amusingly, there was a time when Oculus came to him for advice when mating season came around. It only confused Rift at the time, for how would he help as it was NOCTOWL courting, not flying Alakazam.

 _Of course not, friend._ Rift found a spot in the clearing and crossed his feet as he floated back up into the air. _I'm all ears._

Oculus settled on the ground in front of Rift, spreading his wings to warm them in the sun. "I know what everybody's feeling so far about everything that has been happening. Everyone except for you.." Rift followed Oculus's outstretched wing as it pointed at him, "..and Alpha."

 _When you said "everything"..._

"I mean, what are your thoughts on this whole thing? The training, the Knight stuff, the _Giratina_ attacking us...and what are your thoughts on Aurora and Alpha?"

 _Why do you want to know?_

"Call me curious and humor me, Rift." Well then. Rift didn't see why he shouldn't, it wasn't as if telling his thoughts to the Noctowl would be a bad thing. Shrugging and relaxing his posture, Rift leaned forward and fiddled with an end of his mustache with his thumb and index finger.

 _Very well. I'll start with the time Lady Arceus made Roxanne the offer. I thought it was incredibly honoring, yet, so very daunting. Imagining what it would be like serving under Arceus, becoming a Knight under oath...It's something unfathomable, equally amazing and terrifying. You truly need to risk everything to fully serve under her and while that can very well mean possible death, it is also a great honor._

 _As for the training...While it is very strenuous and extreme at some points, I think it's necessary for the type of tasks we'll be eventually taking on. It's certainly beneficial, both Master and Roxanne are getting stronger and faster with every session, as are we. Not only that, but all of us are developing faster reaction times. Oculus, humans on average have a reaction time of 215 milliseconds. I've been recording intensely and I found that both Master and Roxanne have a reaction time of 187. And we are not even halfway through our training. I think that is all that needs to be said to express my feelings about our training._

 _When the Giratina attacked us, I'd say we put our trust in Lady Aurora...and Lord Alpha. They seem to be truly concerned with helping our growth and health so they will most likely handle whatever may come for us. They didn't even want us to help take down the Giratina because they were confident in their own abilities so they'd rather not have us risk our lives by joining in. Again, I think that says much about what I feel about it._

 _Lady Aurora is wise and caring, and she can be stern when she needs to be. She is also very casual whenever we're not training, as if her status as a Legendary of the Council doesn't even set us apart. Even though she is about Master and Roxanne's age, it seems as though she's the authoritative adult in a room full of adolescents….And her cooking is very satisfying._

 _Lord Alpha...I'm not entirely sure what to feel about him. He never says anything more than he needs to and he secludes himself more than the phrase "lone wolf" should allow. We know next to nothing about him except for what he is and his current status in the Legendaries. We also know that he is powerful just by standing near him. He never fools around nor does he ever relax as we would. It's as if he's constantly expecting to come out from hiding to attack him, though he hides all his emotions and concerns, if he has any, well. And his darkness...It's more than anything I've ever felt. I do not even think I'll be able to break his barriers on my spoons anytime soon. But despite all of that, he is trustworthy. That is for certain in all of that shroud of mystery surrounding him._

Oculus blinked and Rift wondered if he went on too much. The Noctowl then chuckled. "I agree with you. So far, nothing too bad has happened to any of us and should anything happen, Alpha and Aurora will be there. Training is not too bad, even though my wings are getting sore more often than not." Oculus cawed a laugh. "Those two, even Alpha, are good people and even better friends. Sorry for asking, I just wanted your say on it all." Rift nodded, smiling as Oculus sighed. They were content, despite the attack from the day prior. Rift found it funny, for one would never think that they, of all people, a small team aiming to beat the Trainer's circuit, would ever be recruited by the Arceus. No, their initial goal was to defeat the Johto League, take whatever earnings they would make from doing so, become champions, and live a life of leisure.

But thinking about that goal now...Rift thought that it would actually be very unsatisfying. All their hard work, with blood, sweat, and tears, to defeat the Johto League paying off only to relax and live lazily for the rest of their lives? No, with their current occupations under Lady Arceus, they had another purpose. A much larger and significant one than simply being champions of the region. To be honest, it made Rift feel proud and he had to admit, he may have been developing a bigger head and ego lately (But he didn't show it, of course! Oh, how appalled he would be if Master Hugh and the others saw him as such!) and perhaps, a bit overconfident in his training (Even though he was having trouble progressing past the dark barriers around his spoons.).

"Oh. Hey, Alpha."

Damn! How did he not feel the Fenrir's presence? It could not simply be because of the fact that he was of the Dark. A Psychic-type would still be able to feel the presence of dark entities and such. Opening his eyes once more, Rift almost recoiled though kept his composure seeing that the Fenrir was only about a foot away from his position. _His footfalls are practically nonexistent with how silent they are._

Alpha nodded at them, greeting them both. "Oculus, Rift. I came to tell you two that we are planning to go to Cianwood City soon."

"So they actually agreed on it?" Oculus asked. Rift briefly wondered about what they would be doing. If he recalled correctly, which he should be since he had near-perfect memory (and the fact that Aurora and them were discussing it about five minutes ago), they would be simply spending the day relaxing at the beach. Some say that Cianwood was actually a disappointment, for it was a dead end in the region and not much can be done there. Others say that the only reason worth coming there was to challenge the Gym. Rift almost snorted.

And their reason was to relax at the beach.

"Yes." Alpha pointed towards the house and out came the Akirari and two humans. "She told me just a little past a minute ago."

…

Stepping out of the portal, Rift felt his feet warm atop the sand. While Aurora closed her portal, he took a moment to eye the Fenrir and Akirari. The two looked...normal, to say in the least. Alpha had mentioned that his appearance would rouse attention to them, as well as cause many to question just what he really was. To remedy that, the Fenrir had an illusion casted around his wings and horns, while the flames traveling throughout the tribal markings on his body and tail simply lowered in intensity. One would probably take that as a sign that the Fenrir was studying the arcanes. The bones on his body were "shadowed" as well, making his overall appearance be that of a normal wolf. As for Aurora, she bent light around her to make her wings invisible. She didn't do anything to change the pulsing blue steams on her body. One would probably see them as something of magic as well.

So in short, the two Legendaries resembled normal wolves, albeit, complete opposites of each other. Also, they were all in different clothing to suit-pun _was_ intended, thank you very much-their current situation. Rift's master was currently wearing swimming trunks and a tank top, Roxanne was wearing a large shirt over herself with probably some clothing to be in the water underneath, Aurora wore shorts and a shirt (probably wearing some underclothes for the water like Roxanne), and finally, after MUCH convincing to even come with them, Alpha wore a simple gray shirt and dark asphalt colored shorts.

"Yes, a breeze…" Roxanne sighed as she stretched towards the sun, temperatures were high in the area. Rift didn't really feel it as much but maybe it was just him. Next to him, Oculus immediately took to the sky to test the winds. As he glided, they found that Roxanne's statement was a bit of a understatement as the Noctowl was constantly directed to the east and it seemed that he had to give a bit of effort to fight against the wind.

"Sunblock, guys." Aurora produced a bottle of sunblock in her palm and tossed it to Hugh. While Rift's master started applying the UVB-defense cream, Rift himself inwardly shrugged at the offer. He didn't need sunblock, he could always create a screen around his person to nullify the harmful rays of the sun.

"So," Hugh said as he applied the sunscreen to his arm, "the plan is to kick back and relax until around, what, noon? Then we'll all go out to eat, more beach time, dinner, then go back to the house?" Well, the plan was simple.

"Sounds about right." Aurora replied as Oculus returned to them.

"You don't look that excited, Rift." Oculus whispered with a laugh, knowing full well Rift's reply to that.

 _I must remain professional_. The Alakazam then smiled as Oculus gave him a slight nudge with a wing.

It was going to be a good day.

…

 _ **Somewhere…**_

It was dark. He could barely see anything past two feet in front of him. But, he knew where he was going. He knew the path well, he'd have to make another left at the next split in the hallway and continue on straight down the path from that point on. He walked the path every day, it was routine.

It would be another five minutes or so of walking before he reached his destination. What awaited him was something resembling a throne room. Five large figures sat upon large pillars in a half circle, all of them staring at him. He almost cowered under their gaze, their red eyes sent chills down his spine. He could feel them looking down on him as he was so inferior compared to them, he was only a lowly Latios. "Sires." he greeted with a bow of the head.

" _ **Latios."**_ the figure in the center rumbled, its voice resembling the tumbling of rocks. " _ **So you come bearing news. Good news, I hope…"**_ The Latios had trouble swallowing his nervousness, absently clutching at the glowing purple insignia at his chest probably as some way to comfort himself.

Or to remind him who his loyalty belonged to.

" _ **What became of our assassin?"**_ The Latios began to sweat, he could feel his heart rate rise rapidly. He very much wanted to smile and apologize for interrupting the leaders, turn away, and fly for his life. One can never really predict the actions of these five, especially what they may do when it comes to bad news. And so, gathering his little courage and hoping they wouldn't decide to separate his head from his neck in the next minute...He rather liked having his head connected to his neck.

"The Giratina.." Latios began, trying not to somehow irritate the leaders with the sound of his very voice. "..he has been stopped. And killed, from what our sources say."

Latios loathed the next several moments. They were staring down on him, never breaking away their gaze. He almost wished they would simply yell at him, also almost wishing they would just blame him for it all and take away his rank. The suspense and their silence was the absolute worst when it came to meetings such as this one. The Latios's sweat started to drip to the floor and when it did, he almost _fainted._ His sweat was _on. their. floor!_ Oh, he was so done for!

 _ **.."Killed, you say? And he didn't even succeed in completing his objective?"**_

"...Yes." This was it. His life would end right there and then. He always knew it would be at the hands of the leaders. Closing his eyes, the Latios took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for whatever possible torment and eventual death they might throw at him.

" _ **Well then, this is a bit unexpected. We have sent out others as well, but they've yet to reach their targets...Tell me, Latios, how exactly did he perish?"**_ Oh, _damn it._ He had hoped they wouldn't ask him that question. If he survived through the first question, this one would be the one that would do him in.

"Sire, sources say that it was due to the Fenrir..."

The air had never been colder than how it was at that moment. Neither had it been filled with so much malicious intent.


	7. Chapter 7

**And here's another chapter guys :) Hope you don't mind that it's a little longer than usual, but this one is actually kinda special to us. Took us a few tries to get some moments right, but we finally got the result we were looking for.**

 **So this one only has two point of views, we might just keep it like that from this point on. Don't worry, we'll still include all the characters in on it, not just these two in this chapter.**

 **No fanfic of the week spotlight this time, we didn't get to read any.**

 **No shoutouts this week XD. But as always, read, review (if you'd like), and enjoy.**

 **Chapter 7: Beach Day**

 _ **With Ryker…**_

At the moment, Ryker was sitting down at a table. It had an umbrella for shade standing through the center, though it wasn't opened. He didn't mind anyway, it was just heat. In his hand was a cup of water. It was purified and chilled, courtesy of the Akirari currently playing with the beach ball in the water with the others. In his other hand was one of his books, halfway finished and he presumed that he would finish it by the end of the day.

However, despite it being opened and in his hand, the Fenrir wasn't reading it at the moment. He was actually staring at the waves. He was in deep thought, ignoring his cup of water, ignoring his book, ignoring passerbies and at one point, a volleyball that almost grazed the top of his head. He had been like this for only a few moments, but as fingers snapped in front of his eyes and brought him back to his full senses, he felt as if it had been for ages. Blinking, the Fenrir gave Roxanne a raised eyebrow as he set down and closed his book. _Remember to call her by her nickname._ he thought to himself, recalling how he made her frown by almost saying her whole name. "Do you need something, Roxy?"

"Nope, just wanted to know why you're sitting there brooding?" Brooding? Was he brooding? He was only reflecting, did his expression somehow give the impression he was? Noting to himself to work on his neutral expressions more, Ryker shook his head and gestured to the open seat across from him. She sat down and crossed her arms with a hand under her chin, her eyes narrowed in worry. Roxanne was only wearing a two piece skirted bathing suit, having discarded the large shirt she was wearing over them earlier when she and the others decided to get in the water. The two piece was purple in color. "You ok?"

"I was not brooding, there is nothing wrong." Ryker answered. "I was just in thought, I tend to do so whenever there is nothing to be done." Roxanne mouthed "Oh." in understanding and smiled.

"Yeah, I noticed." After a laugh, she thumbed at the water where Aurora, Hugh, and surprisingly, Rift played some sort of extreme game of catch with the beachball. As they played, other people made sure to give the group of three a wide berth in case the ball somehow came their way. "And what do you mean? There's plenty to be done...You're not afraid of water, are you? Or drowning?" At his blank look, she dismissed the last question.

"I do not do well in socializing, as you probably know by now. Nor do I find interest in playing around, I would rather keep to myself." Roxanne sighed and rolled her eyes, an action Ryker found amusement in for some reason.

"What DO you want to do then?" She seemed irritated a moment before, but she seemed more curious now. And as Ryker opened his mouth to answer, she quickly pointed a finger at him. "EXCEPT for training or running or spacing out. Reading doesn't count either, you do that a lot too...Didn't you just start that book when we got here?"

 _There is a difference between spacing out and reflecting._ Ryker thought as he promptly closed his mouth. Roxanne waited for him to give an answer but when he didn't say anything, she almost facepalmed.

"Why don't you get in the water with us?"

"I would rather not."

"Why not?"

"It is just my decision." He saw her smile twitch and wondered if he had angered her. Though, that did not seem to be the case as she ended up giving a short giggle before shaking her head.

"You're making this pretty hard, Alpha. Come on, just have some fun." She stood up and offered a hand, to which Alpha eyed warily despite his neutral expression. He subtly glanced at his book before glancing at the water. "It's just going to be us, the others don't even have to be there." Ryker looked at her, curious of her last statement. "As long as you're having fun."

 _Well, it does not seem that bad anyway._ "I suppose I can go then." Standing up, he realized Roxanne was still waiting for him and when he gave her an arched expression, she gestured to his shirt which was still on. "Of course, thank you for reminding me." He took off his shirt, folding it and placing it on the table. At that moment, Roxanne broke out into a larger smile and grasped his hand. Alarmed by the foreign contact, Ryker could only blink as she led him over to the water. Once they reached the soaked edge of the sand, she released his hand and waded into the water with slow steps. Once she was waist-deep, she turned around and beckoned him to follow her example.

Nodding slightly, Ryker casual stepped in and went deeper into the water before stepping next to Roxanne. "It feels nice, doesn't it? It's not too cold, but it's not too warm."

"The temperature does seem balanced." Ryker replied as he watched her casually lowered herself in the water so that it was at chin-level. She then closed her eyes, randomly wading in different directions though never straying too far from her original position. Ryker diverted his gaze to the horizon before scanning the rest of the area, seeing Aurora and Hugh splashing each other rather violently. He also saw Oculus casually settling in the water, being careful and briefly launching himself into the air with every wave that came. Rift was actually swimming by himself, and Ryker could hear the Alakazam humming contentedly to himself.

It was when a wave parted at his middle that Ryker finally decided to follow Roxanne's example. He lowered himself into the water stopping when it reached his shoulders. Ryker and Roxanne stayed like that for a when suddenly, the latter submerged into the water. Realizing she wasn't coming back up, Ryker submerged the rest of his body into the water and blinked the blurriness away from his vision as he looked at her.

Roxanne, with bubbles escaping her mouth at short intervals, was scanning the sand and occasionally skimmed her hand along the surface. _What are you doing?_ he asked her, momentarily forgetting that she was not adept in mental conversation. _Just gesture, do not try to reply with your thoughts. You may accidentally send more thoughts than you mean to._ She nodded her understanding. One could accidentally project a private or personal thought if they weren't careful, including mental images.

Roxanne gestured at various points at the sand, indicating at a pinkish-white shell before picking it up and presenting it to him. She then made a bored expression at a generic brown shell that didn't really feature any notable details like the pink shell did. Ah, so she was looking for some unique shells. Nodding, Ryker decided to aid her in her search for shells and felt around in the sand as well.

Before too long, they had several shells in collection. They had to resurface a few times for oxygen and to deposit the shells a short ways from the water, as well as change their location when it seemed like there were no more shells in the spot they were digging around in. In total so far, they had gathered nine different shells, each a similar size though unique in shape. A good amount was found by Ryker, actually, something that sparked a sort of a challenge between the two. If he had to be honest about it, Ryker was beginning to find his time with Roxanne fun. Despite the fact that their way of communication was limited most of the time, he found that it didn't really matter much. It was just fun overall.

The Fenrir suddenly spotted something peculiar, instantly recognizing it upon further inspection. He picked it up, turning to Roxanne who was still focused on finding more shells. _Hold out your hand._ he told her.

She paused in her searching and turned around, showing him her palm with an expression of curiosity, possibly expecting an extravagant shell or something along those lines. But instead, Ryker placed something that was rather...alive to be just a shell.

Roxanne's eyes raised in excitement as the hermit crab walked around on her palm. It's shell wasn't mundane, either, but rather an interesting shape. It resembled that of a Samurott's helmet, only a lot smaller in scale. Roxanne beamed at the Fenrir after a moment, indicating for them to resurface. Nodding, he followed her up.

After a gasp for her, Roxanne grinned. "Where'd you find it?" she asked as she rubbed the top of the hermit crab's shell with a finger. "It's pretty small...cute." Ryker had to agree, the hermit crab was actually quite small for its size. Perhaps it had a stunted growth.

"It was just scuttling along when I found it." the Fenrir answered.

"I'm going to keep him." Well, that was rather unexpected. He had figured that they would leave it at the beach when it was time to go out to eat or leave. He didn't realize that she would be even interested in keeping the hermit crab.

"You are?"

"Yeah! I'm gonna name him Alphy."... What? Did he hear her right? Slightly craning his head, he made sure there was no water in his ear before doing the same with the other. He then shook his head, taking care not to spray Roxanne with water droplets.

"Excuse me?" Roxanne briefly looked up at him before returning her attention to the hermit crab.

"I'm going to name him Alphy. Cute name, don't you think?"

"... "

"I think it is.. Yeah, his name is definitely Alphy." Sighing quietly, Ryker could only smile in amusement as they made their way back to their spot on the beach. Aurora and Hugh were waiting for them, actually, Oculus and the ever-silent Rift were making a fairly large sandcastle with the Noctowl transporting buckets of sand and dampening them with water.

Sitting down in their chairs, with Aurora and Hugh on chairs they had brought to the table, Ryker briefly flared into flame when he saw that no one was looking. His body instantly dried, and he made sure all of his fur wasn't standing on end, lasting down a few that were with a hand.

"Hey, you have a hermit crab." Hugh said with interest as he leaned forward to eye the crustacean closely.

"His name is Alphy, I'm bringing him back to the house." Alpha hid his slight exasperation, though he was more amused at the subject, as Hugh blinked at her statement. "I'm sure I can find a plastic tupperware we don't use to put him in."

"You guys hungry?" Aurora asked, not giving Hugh the chance to question Roxanne's choice of names. "There's a seafood restaurant over by the Gym, 4.5 out of 5 stars."

"That sounds expensive, actually." Oculus muttered. Hugh nodded in agreement, an action Ryker was almost confused about. He realized that Hugh and Roxanne were still wearing their translators, and they were apparently incredibly waterproof. Expensive indeed.

"I will pay." Ryker said, causing them to protest. Only Aurora kept silent about it, she seemed not too concerned. "It is fine, I have another home in Kanto and for a time, I worked as armed escort for a rather popular hotel that celebrities usually go to." That quieted their concerns, though they still thanked him. "Think nothing of it."

Ryker recalled a night where he stood outside a private suite as an armed guard in the hotel he had mentioned. There had been an attack on the celebrity he was guarding, a famous pop artist if he recalled correctly, that he had to prevent. It had been a gunman who got in by threatening everyone he came across with a rifle and gunning down the other guards, both security guards of the hotel and private bodyguards like Ryker used to be.

The gunmen had eventually reached the floor Ryker was on and the Fenrir had no choice but to disarm the man and snapped the man's wrist when after being threatened by a hidden sidearm.

Blinking the memory away, Ryker questioned the group, "Should we go now and eat?" They nodded. "Please lead the way, Aurora." The Akirari nodded and donned her shirt and shorts from earlier over her blue two-piece. Everyone got into their casual clothing as well, though Roxanne had to throw on shorts that Aurora had produced for her seeing as the human only had an oversized shirt for their day at the beach.

Buttoning up his collar to the neck and leaving the rest opened, Ryker and the group followed Aurora who led them towards the Gym. At one point, the Fenrir offered to transport the hermit crab Roxanne now owned to the house. And when she accepted the offer, the hermit crab was transported to the house with a wave of the hand via a curtain of shadows. The Fenrir assured her that the hermit crab was safe and sound when she voiced her concerns. "I'm actually a big fan of seafood." Oculus decided to supply as they walked.

.

"You don't say?" Hugh laughed, knowing how avian creatures like the Noctowl usually prefer fish and the like. Oculus only laughed along.

"I only like certain types of seafood, you won't ever find me eating something like squids or octopi. And most things in sushi...No eel for me.." the Akirari shivered. "And you, Rift?" she asked as Rift was right next to her.

 _I do not have a taste for the fancy things like, just the simple and satisfying ones like shrimp or the occasional crab leg._

"I love lobster, and crab puffs too!" Roxanne contributed as she listed her thoughts from the top of her head. "Eh, I guess I'm like Aurora, I stay away from mollusks and cephalo's. But I'm willing to try new things." She nudged Ryker with an elbow, something that he found less irritating than he thought it to be. "What about you, Alpha?"

"I have no preference." Ryker said as he rolled up his sleeves. He suddenly stopped, narrowing his eyes at the unknown on his shoulder. Behind him, an Original, a Great Dane, stood with a smirk. He towered over Ryker as well, standing at a staggering seven feet tall and a few inches. He was quite muscled, sporting a shirt that was tight enough to expose his fitness along with sports pants. "Is there a problem?" Ryker asked, casually folding the last inch of his left sleeve up.

"Heard this chick calling you Alpha and if it means what I think it means, which I'm pretty sure it does, then we have a problem indeed." His grip on Ryker's shoulder tightened, and it seemed to irritate the Great Dane as the Fenrir didn't show any signs of discomfort. Ryker was actually analyzing the Original.

 _Very large muscles, though that is more unhealthy than it is beneficial. However, with how they are a lot less defined and are focused on size, they are probably just for show. He is a low threat, I should try to defuse the situation without needing to fight first._ "Oh?" Ryker said as he turned around to face the instigator. _The rest of you can go to the restaurant, I will meet you all there._ "Can you clarify what exactly is the issue?"

 _Okay then._ Aurora replied, he could tell she had full confidence in him. "Alright, guys, let's go. Alpha will be just fine." At the their visible discomfort of leaving the Fenrir there, she only smiled and shrugged towards Ryker. The four seemed to calm when they remembered who they were talking about.

"I'd check who you're calling Alpha, babe." the Great Dane said as he crossed his arms. "At this beach, _I'm_ calling the shots. Not some weakling like him." He indicated Ryker's person. "Look at him, that's not muscle! That's chump! Me, on the other ha-Hey!" The Great Dane growled as Aurora, Hugh, and the two pokemon began to walk away while Roxanne remained behind Ryker.

"Be there soon, Alpha! We're hungry and we don't want to wait too long!" Aurora called back. The Great Dane growled again.

"Now you'd better get-!" he started as he moved to shove Ryker out of the way. However, to Ryker's and the Great Dane's surprise, Roxanne stepped up and smacked away the Original's arm.

"Hey! You back off!" she said with grit teeth. "Listen, NO ONE is 'calling the shots' here, a _public beach_. And you don't go around picking fights, talking shit about others just to satisfy your ego." She then paused, taking a breath to calm herself and not noticing either the Fenrir or the Great Dane staring at her in shock. "Now, can you please screw off so me and my friends can go eat. If not, I can always tie a rope to your neck and another to bind your arms and legs together to a tree. I'll then tie the rope around your neck to a hyperactive Rapidash or some other equine and let it run while you're stuck to the tree." she said in an eerily calm tone.

"..."

"..."

Roxanne held out her hand for the Great Dane to shake. "So are we good or do I need to start getting the rope?" The Great Dane nodded and nervously took her hand, wincing as she tightened her grip around it before letting go. In that brief contact of hands, Ryker realized the way Roxanne's hand had been position. It had been in a higher position, her fingers angled downwards towards the Great Dane's hand. And she even had a stronger grip...Ryker recognized her end of the handshake, it was the handshake of those who did not submit. "Cool, see you later!" The Original turned tail and left, leaving Ryker and Roxanne alone on the sidewalk. "I always got your back, Alpha, even if I'm way weaker than you." She gave him a quick hug with an arm before walking towards the direction the others went.

 _...That was...impressive._ The tiniest of smirks made its way on Ryker's face before he began to follow her, his tail subtly twitching as he tried to suppress his current emotions. Even when they caught up with the group, went inside and got their seats, he was actually still focused on what had happened earlier before he and Roxanne caught up with the others. He was still smiling, in fact, despite how it barely changed his expression visibly. He felt great gratitude, also feeling very warmed by the very action of her acting to defend him. It had actually alarmed him at first, the fact that she threw herself in front of the Great Dane who could have very well harmed her. The Fenrir had almost resorted to violence. But amazingly, incomprehensibly, it was unnecessary. Because of _her_ and her acts of selflessness. Ryker only knew, aside from the two Arceus, Hugh, and even Aurora, only one other. Only one other of whom, gave him a warm feeling of similar caliber. A similar warmth, though this time was different. _Perhaps, I can talk to her tonight._ Nodding to himself, Ryker made a mental note to do so.

…

It was noon and the sky was getting dark, the air cool and the ocean spray more constant. Ryker was currently alone. He was taking a walk, the others were in the hotel by the Pokemon Center playing whatever they could find in the arcade if he recalled correctly. The Fenrir was walking along a dark path which had no signs of anyone ever really using it. After having deemed the path and the general direction he was headed devoid of people via the updraft, he knew that no one would interrupt them.

He walked quite a ways from the beach area, finding himself somewhere along the mountains that made up the wall in the ocean west of the city. When he found a suitable rock, he sat down and let out a sigh. Smiling lightly, Ryker raised a hand palm outward in front of his chest. In the next second, dark matter of sorts materialized from his clawed hand and formed into a solid horizontal object. At first, it was hard to tell what it was. But as the edges refined themselves and details appeared on the surfaces, it was clear to see that the object was a sword.

Black and serrated along the edges of the blade, the sword was about four and a half feet long in length from pommel to the end of the blade. There were no features that stood out on the sword except for the fact that it was serrated and that there were slash-like engravings along the edges and across the middle of the blade. There was more detail on the guard, which was formed in the shape of fangs curved towards the blade on the sides. There was a colorless gem in the guard with some sort of black void pulsing within. The same type of gem could be found in the pommel. The last defining feature of the sword was the tattered dark gray cloth wrapped around the hilt which extended past the pommel a little ways.

"You are finally awake, Daina." the Fenrir said as he stared at the gem within the guard. "How was your sleep?" An ethereal yawn answered him, seemingly from within the gem as it flashed briefly.

" **It was really nice, can't really get comfortable much in this piece of steel though."** The voice had a feminine tone, resembling someone in their late teens. Ryker only chuckled as he lightly tapped the blade with a finger.

"You know, it is not steel. It comes from-."

" **Your homeland and doesn't exist here, yadda yadda. I know, nii."** A soft laugh. " **Wow...I should sleep like that more often. I feel pretty rested...well, as rested as a soul can be."** Ryker shook his head.

"The last time you were awake was a few days ago, Daina. We both know that you only need to rest for two days at most every month to keep your soul attached to my sword. And even then, you do not even have to rest unless you exert yourself."

" **You know I like exploring these places!"** the voice, Daina, defended. " **I'm not native to these regions, and I want to explore every place I can."** she added with a matter-of-factly tone. Ryker only chuckled again, nodding.

 _But it is taking less time for her to regain her strength, it only took a few days this time rather than a week. With time, she can wander from my sword for far longer without risking losing her hold in this world._ he thought. He recalled the day he met her, bleeding on the floor before her and dying.

…

 _He lay there, panting heavily and dying. Of all the days he decided to try and get used to this anthropomorphic form, it happened to be the day he ran into a damned dragon Original. Even though the drake was now dead, there was still evidence of its existence. Namely, the slashes and bites covering Ryker's front. His abdomen was the most damaged of his body, though there were less wounds there than everywhere else on his body._

 _The Fenrir closed his eyes. So, he was going to die. He knew that he had no more energy to heal himself, neither did he have any to even move. He was going to die because his damned anthropomorphic form had a hard time responding to his will._

 _Blood and darkness...Jeanne would be incredibly disappointed of him, Darko as well. This was only his third assignment, and already, he was going to perish with very little contribution under his belt. Opening his eyes, Ryker scanned the area. He was in the center of a massive crater, flames still licked at the ground in several spots. Rubble and mounds of dirt littered the area as well, most likely due to him being thrown to the ground or the dragon crashing a few times._

 _In any case, the Fenrir's ears twitched as a gasp sounded from behind him. He inwardly growled as he recognized the scent as female and human. The entire village was supposed to be searching in the nearby mountain caves due to a rumor someone had spread about hidden treasures being within….The job was easily done thanks to a subtle suggestion to a random villager through telepathy. The villager thought it was some sort of holy deity speaking to him._

 _But Ryker was not some holy deity._

 _He heard quick footfalls make their way towards him. Trying to look through the blood flowing down his right eye, as his left was injured shut. What greeted him was a girl. He would soon learn that she was 15, about a year and a half younger than him, and that the only reason why she wasn't with the rest of the villagers was because she was actually on the way to the local Pokemon Center to try and register for an appointment to be a Trainer. She had dark chestnut hair and brown eyes, wearing a dainty red dress that flowed around her ankles. She stood at a height of 5 feet tall, short compared to the Fenrir._

 _She looked shocked at his appearance and the destruction around them before her expression changed to concern. "I'm going to try and help you, okay? Stay there!" Before Ryker could do anything, she ran off._

 _ **It's not like I can go anywhere anyway.**_ _Ryker thought, temporarily discarding the fact that a human girl had just left to help him in someway. He waited for several minutes, feeling his body losing warmth and weaken even further. It was when he thought he was going to lose consciousness was when she came back, first-aid kits in her arms._

 _They later found themselves at the base of a nearby hill, the girl managed to help him over. His wounds patched up for now, the Fenrir sat up and prepared to leave only for a hand to stop him by the wrist. "Where are you going?"_

 _Why did she even care? "Back to my employer." Ryker answered, beginning to walk away again._

" _My name's Daina." Stopping and glancing at her, he raised an eyeridge. She still sat there, beaming like an innocent child. Though, he could see in her eyes that she probably dealt with more things than she let on. "You should stay until you heal up, you know? It's not good to move around while you're hurt."_

" _I'll be fine." he replied curtly. Daina seemed to pout, also glaring at him. Ryker didn't seem to care and spread his bandaged wings._

" _Wait!" Irritated, Ryker turned to face her again. Daina picked up the teapot she had brought-the Fenrir had no idea why she had done so-, and set it down on some glowing embers that remained in the destruction. "Have some tea first!" she almost demanded, Ryker blinking before shrugging, furling in his wings before walking back towards her..._

…

Before he could recall the rest of the memory, Daina snapped him out of it. " **Nii-iiii? I've been calling you for the past minute!"**

"I apologize, little one." Ryker replied, amused as he practically felt her happiness emanating.

" **You haven't called me that since I turned sixteen!"** she said happily, humming and causing his sword to vibrate. Ryker almost rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he stretched his neck. It popped before he stretched to the other side and producing the same noise. Ryker knew that she had always liked being called "little one", ever since they became brother and sister in a sense. " **Anyway, what were you thinking about?"** Ah, she always knew whenever he was in deep thought.

"I was just remembering the day we met." he answered. He felt her happiness flare for a moment.

" **I'll always remember that day! I remember seeing a bunch of fire and hearing some explosions!"** She paused to, he assumed, remembered more of the day. " **And then I saw you and we became friends after I got your grumpy ass drink some tea.."** Ryker snorted at this, humoring her by pretending to be indignant. " **And then I convinced you to fly me around-"**

"And that was only because it was on the way to the nearest Pokemon Center." Ryker clarified, though she ignored him.

" **-and then we just hung out for the rest of the day...And then, I died."** Her happiness seemed to deflate at her last statement and Ryker frowned, gripping his sword tightly. He still blamed himself for trusting the informant, the one who gave him the location of the target in the first place that day. Had it not been for him, she would still be-. " **I know that look on your face. You're still blaming yourself, aren't you?"** He didn't answer. " **Stop it, Ryker, you couldn't have known that he worked for the dragon guy. He's the one killed me, not you."**

Yes...The informant came from the Hall of Origins to their location near the Pokemon Center for a supposed "report". It had resulted in him taking the two in a surprise attack, with the Fenrir being too slow and weak to stop the blade that pierced her heart.

The informant, whoever his true identity had been, was then a red smear in the ground.

It was only because he came to care for her that day. She had cried, a lot. She had told him of her dreams to travel, of how she didn't want to die yet...of how she didn't want to leave her new friend-no, she called him "brother" for whatever reason, after having only known him for a few hours. Touched and feeling close to almost leveling the entire area, Ryker thought of only one thing he could do of the time.

And that was to attach her soul to his sword. It was the first time he had ever done something like that, but that didn't stop him.

Over time, they had grown significantly close like family. She would converse with him in his thoughts most of the time and other times, she'd sleep to regain her strength to keep holding herself to his sword. Despite all this though, Ryker kept Daina a secret. Not even the two Arceus knew of her. And the reason why was so that none would try to get him to allow Daina to pass on.

And neither of them wanted that.

" **You know, Ryker, I'm still very grateful for what you did."** Ryker glanced at his sword. " **At least I'm still..around.** " Even then, he didn't respond. " **Nii?"**

"Of course." Ryker finally said, smiling a little. It was a weak one, but still a smile. Ryker knew she was smiling back at him, despite being a soul. He then let out a quick yawn, his sword dematerializing at the same time.

" **So I see you're becoming closer to them."** Daina commented, her tone was almost teasing in a way. Ryker raised an eyeridge at that, scratching the nape of his neck to rid himself of the sudden itch that developed there.

He knew what she was trying to say. He was getting better, socially. Subtly, but gradually. He was slowly lowering his defenses around the group, even though it wasn't by that much. He'd feel himself almost relax around them, when they weren't training. It was also strange to him, that it worked in such a while. "It" being what, he wasn't sure. "I have already had this conversation with Jeanne." he said after a moment.

" **No, you two had a conversation about Roxanne getting closer to** _ **you**_ **."** She was definitely saying it in a teasing tone. " **Or should I say, 'Roxy'?"** Ryker snorted again, not really feeling like retorting just yet. " **Come on, nii, you know you want to consider her a friend."**

"...Of course, as with Aurora and Hugh." Ryker didn't include Rift and Oculus for a few reasons. In all their time together thus far, the two pokemon mostly kept their distance from him except for training and they rarely talked with him. Rift, especially, though it was probably in his nature. "But…"

" **But?"**

"I do not-"

" **Use contractions, nii, you'll sound a lot less weird that way. Haven't I told you before?"** Ryker couldn't help but to roll his eyes at that. He _had_ used contractions back when he was younger, around the time the two of them met, but somewhere along the line, he ended up not using contractions very often.

"I _don't_ know if I can-."

" **Trust them?"**

"What is the point of asking me a question if you are-...you're not letting me answer?" His answer was in the form of silence from her. "But you guessed right, I really don't. I would like to, but I can never be too sure."

" **...That's pretty cold of you, Ryker. All this time-the training, working with Hugh to scare the living hell out of them and letting Roxanne sleep outside with you that night, working together with Aurora and talking with her about the kind of sports and dares she likes to play with her friends on leave-"** Yeah, Ryker didn't know how he and the Akirari fell into that conversation, but he had humored her and actually participated in talking. " **-And...wait, where are we?"**

"A Giratina made an attempt to try and kill Hugh and Roxanne yesterday. Today is a day off from training, and they planned for all of us to spend the day at the beach nearby."

" **So what did you do all day? Swim?"**

"I helped Roxanne collect shells after she convinced me to leave my seat on the beach, found a hermit crab that she ended up keeping, and we ate out at this seafood restaurant. Before we went to the restaurant, someone stopped me and the two of us almost engaged in a fight. However, Roxanne...diffused the situation by stepping in front of me, before the Original, and talked him down and sent him on his way." Ryker then scratched his chin, absently rubbing the spot his chin spike would be underneath the illusion he had casted. "At the restaurant, we ate our lunch and Aurora told several jokes, one or two was actually slightly amusing. We then split off outside the restaurant, Aurora went with them to play in the arcade section of the hotel by the Pokemon Center and I came here because I felt your soon-to-be though now it already happened, awakening." A straightforward report, one not much different than the ones he would tell Jeanne at the end of every assignment.

" **...One or two sentences would've worked, you know?"** Ryker practically felt her facepalm.

"You asked me, that was my answer."

" **AHEM! Back to what I was saying, and now, you even enjoyed yourself today at the beach and actually gave in to Roxanne wanting you to get in the water. If you didn't trust them, I don't think you'd even go through the trouble of even coming out here, let alone helping someone you supposedly don't trust or care for look around for shells then having lunch with them in a group. At the very least, we know that you consider them friends. And I think you trust them too, even though the only reason why you're around is for the training."**

 _And you thought I was talkative._ The Fenrir thought, chuckling to himself.

" **So stop bullshitting yourself over this Ryker, stop hiding. Stop running away...You've already accepted them as friends, you clearly trust them despite your doubt..So why don't you start accepting help instead of pushing them away?"**

"Keeping everyone away is how I have gotten this far." Ryker replied coldly. He ignored Daina's rising frustration. "Trust, and I mean trust as in the one that would not get you killed, is not easy to give. Trust, the one you would give to one you care for...I believe is even harder. The latter has led to many betrayals in my past, you being involved in one of them-" He felt Daina shy away at that last statement. "...I know that I may be being too callous about it, but know that it is hard for me to see past it all. I would rather keep myself closed to keep things simple, and to perform efficiently without distractions, without hesitation, without mistakes."

" **...Since when did you become so...so...sad, nii? If you really believe that, then what happened with me on that day? Were we not complete strangers to each other back then? Wasn't I a human?"**

" _I don't trust humans, or people in general, for they'd turn tail and abandon each other at the slightest amount of fear or turn on you from greed, or irrational fear...It's what killed my family, I believe, from what I've gathered from the fragments I've recovered…"_ Ryker inwardly winced at the words he had told her one day, sometime after binding her soul to his sword.

" **Do you not trust me then? Are you just going to shut me out then?...If you haven't started already?"**

"Of course I trust you." Ryker said before he shut his mouth and growled, biting his tongue in frustration and tasting copper.

" **You have your answer then."** Daina said, stern but warm. " **If you still don't believe it,then at least consider it sometime today. If you don't start now, you'll just wander."** He felt the air around him grow warm. " **Think about it, nii."**

…

 _ **With Roxanne…**_

It was when she found that it was past midnight and he still did not return, she decided to just sleep. They had failed to find Alpha in Cianwood, then Aurora brought them back to the house and reassured them that he would be fine. Maybe the Akirari was right, it was Alpha, after all. He was a Fenrir, he wouldn't be in some sort of trouble.

But that didn't really cease her worrying.

Yawning and hoping that Alpha would come back in the morning, Roxanne fell facedown to her bed, exhausted from the day's activities. She shifted, facing the left side of her room. On the desk was a clear bowl filled to about half of the way up. There was a mound of sand within, resembling an iceberg as half of the mound was submerged and the other half was mostly dry. On the sand was a miniature castle of sorts and crawling around it, was Alphy, the hermit crab. Decorating the area around the bowl was an assortment of shells, the ones Alpha helped collecting with her.

She lay there, staring at her desk for a while. When she felt her eyes begin to droop, her vision began to shimmer. Roxanne blinked, perceiving what seemed to be a young woman, about her age, maybe younger. She had a red dress, its color slightly faded. Her hair was in curls, long enough to reach the middle of her back. Her eyes were of the warmest browns Roxanne had ever seen, though they were dim...as if she was sad, if the wan smile she wore wasn't enough of an indication.

She walked up to Roxanne, the latter felt her breathing steady and her core warm from the entity. Roxanne wondered if what she was seeing was real, or something conjured up due to her weariness. If she did happen to be real, was it a ghost? Someone she knew?..No, she didn't look at all familiar. Oh, or maybe she was one of those passed on hex girls Roxanne had heard so much about.

" **I think you're the only one who can help him. The others too, but mostly, you."** the apparition spoke.

"Who...Who are you?" Roxanne managed to say, tiredly blinking her eyes and trying to rouse herself. The apparition only smiled.

" **Someone close to someone close."** she winked. Roxanne didn't understand at all. She closed her eyes to blink, only to find that she couldn't open them again. " **I helped him break free of his chains, his shackles, and break away from most of the horrors that plagued him. Reach for him and don't let go...** " the apparition continued, and Roxanne felt small warm hands envelop her own. " **But he still has his muzzle. His voice, his cry for help, is still silent. Help him out of it. Keep an ear out and listen for him…"** Roxanne was still trying and failing to understand what the apparition was telling her. It was all so..surreal. " **And lastly, he still has his collar. The ultimate bind. But, he is lost, trapped and wandering in circles, not able to progress very far. Show him the way, set him free, but still hold him close and dear…"** Roxanne strained to hear her, though she felt herself losing consciousness very rapidly. " **But before you do anything, you'll have to get past the cage he has set around himself. Break through it! Rip it apart one bar at a time and show him that it. is. not. needed!"**

…

Roxanne gasped as she sat upright, clasping her hands to her chest and breathing heavily. As her heart began to calm its beating, she looked around. The apparition was gone. There were no traces of her. Roxanne's hands radiated their own natural warmth and there were no otherworldly pair of hands holding them. Sighing in relief, she lay back down.

 _That was a freaky dream._ Roxanne thought. She rubbed her eyes, finding with surprise that there was no crust. She didn't even feel tired like she was before. Or maybe, she was only feeling tired in that dream? Whatever it was, she didn't care. She was glad to be in normalcy. To make sure she was fully awake, Roxanne shook her head furiously, even going as far as smacking herself in the face and pinching her arm. Satisfied that she was indeed awake, she sighed again. Closing her eyes, she tried to get some more sleep.

And then, she heard it.

The gale of wind that usually came with him landing, the soft but rough sound of his pads impacting the ground, the slight increase in warmth but at the same time, the cold of his disposition radiated...Could it be?

Getting out of bed, noting to herself how her hearing was a lot stronger for some inexplicable reason, Roxanne left her room and quietly rushed downstairs. When she got to the front door and opened it, a gust of air met her. She caught the smell of smoke with barely a wiff, which was another thing she noted to herself. Her sense of smell… Throwing aside that fact for now, she stepped outside. She almost felt exasperated as yet, another new development made itself apparent. She could make out the contours of many objects in the dark, though only several feet ahead.

And then, it hit her. A sort of..stronger...sixth sense. Acting on it without thinking much of the feeling, she faced towards the left and spotted something walking towards the trees. She grinned at the sight of him.

Speedily walking towards the retreating Fenrir, it was when she got within a few feet of him that the Fenrir turned his head to regard her with an expression of curiosity. _Roxa-Roxy? What are you doing out here so la-?_

She sighed as she felt his fur brush across her face. It wasn't as soft as his tail, though even his tail had a rough feel to it, but it was still comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that she suddenly felt all her fatigue return to her and…and...

…

 _Roxanne scanned the area, finding herself in a clearing. There were trees everywhere around her, wildlife off all kinds either briefly made their appearances or sounded their existence from all around the forest._

 _She didn't feel like getting up, so she instead brought her legs up to her chest and took in all the details around her with a smile. It was beautiful there, beautiful and so very peaceful. She felt like she could just sit there forever without a care in the world._

 _And then, the air grew unbearingly hot. And yet, a very cold presence neared._

 _Roxanne almost screamed as a towering...thing lumbered its way towards her. There was no distinguishable feature as it was covered in black blur except for its eyes, which were a horrifying blank white. It left behind bloody puddles wherever it stepped and as it came closer, the forest grew more silent and still. Roxanne, still not on her feet and almost paralyzed with fear, retreated away inch by inch._

 _When she thought it was going to close the distance between them, it stopped. It simply stood in front of her, staring-no...glaring at her. She could feel its growl growing in its throat and the ground underneath its feet churn with its aggression. When she realized it wasn't going to come any closer, she tentatively tried reaching at it. The thing recoiled, a vicious snarl escaping its maw. When Roxanne withdrew her hand, she noticed its snarl slowly subside, it only grew louder and more threatening the closer she reached towards the thing._

 _She then reached too close, shouting in surprise as a powerful barrier crackled to life around the snarling thing that was before her. Her eyes wide, she quickly withdrew her hand, breathing heavily again. In that moment, when she made contact with the barrier, she felt it all. All the hate, the distrust, the sorrow, anxiety...the fear..._

 _Heart hammering in her ears though keeping her composure, she noticed the metal parts that adorned the thing. It had shackles around its four feet, a muzzle around its mouth, and a spiked collar around its neck. The collar had a metal plate, obviously intended for the thing's name to be engraved in. However, it was scratched across. And very viciously at that, to the point she could no longer discern what it read._

 _Wondering what to do, Roxanne only looked into the thing's eyes. She could hear the growling starting to grow again, though it wasn't as aggressive. So, figuring that she didn't really have much choice to do anything else, Roxanne reached out once again. This time though, she kept her hand low towards the ground, palm up. And she progressed very slowly._

 _The thing slowly took a step back, rearing its head before slowly, almost curiously, sniffed at her hand. Roxanne felt its cool exhales leave through its nostrils and almost prayed it wouldn't bite her hand off. It was very close, but for some reason, the barrier wasn't keeping her at bay. It was still there, as evidenced by the black crackling near her hands, but it was less violent._

 _Suddenly, the thing came closer to her. But this time, it was different. She felt no aggression from it, and the forest came alive again. The thing was almost touching her now, and what it did next shocked her._

 _It curled around her and rested its head at her side. Smiling at the new development, she carefully raised her hand. The thing only looked up at her, its eyes seemingly developing some life as opposed to its earlier blank expression. There was also something else there, something that wasn't there before... Recognition? And as she reached towards the being, without fear and with no growls from the thing, she noticed the smiling apparition sitting daintily on the thing's back as she heard sounds resembling the cracking of glass. Before long, the cracking turned into creak. Then, very loudly, something shattered…_

…

"You're finally awake." Roxanne opened her eyes and yawned, feeling herself being placed gently on a bed. "You shouldn't suddenly up and fall asleep outside without warning." Fully registering her surroundings, Roxanne saw Alpha standing in his anthro form above her. She noticed that she was in her room again, and that it was her bed that he laid her on.

"It's..morning?" she asked, looking out the window. Alpha nodded.

"You came out and fell asleep on me." the Fenrir stated, causing her to redden and feel awkward about her actions from the night before. "I didn't know what to do, whether or not to wake you up or to carry you back to your room. I apologize, by the way, for coming in, but I had to get you in here sometime." So he carried her back?...That was really nice of him.. "Anyway, I didn't know what to do last night, carrying you back to your room risked waking you up. So, I just let you sleep and did my best to keep you warm last night." He indicated his tail with his last statement.

"You came back." was the first thing she ended up saying to him. She was smiling too. "I was worried, you left Cianwood without a word and I thought something happened. The others thought you were fine, but I wanted to know for sure." This actually caused the Fenrir to look...sheepish? Since when did he ever look like that?!

"I wanted some time alone." he said, "Some fresh air and the like and a break from the public." Roxanne nodded, finding his reasoning to make sense given who he was and how introverted he tended to be.

"You also sound...different." she said, raising an eyebrow. She couldn't exactly put her finger on it, though there was definitely something off about the way he spoke. At this, Alpha's eyeridge twitched-and she almost swore that he looked a bit exasperated-and he waved a hand.

"I was told to start using contractions, and so I have been since yesterday. It's that noticeable, isn't it?" Grinning and threatening to laugh at the ridiculous answer, despite how much sense it made with him, Roxanne nodded. "I'll try to keep talking as such for now, I am not sure if it sits well with me."

Roxanne shrugged, still smiling. "Either way, welcome back, Alpha." Alpha nodded and turned around.

"I suppose I'll see you later for training." he said as he started to leave.

"Don't suddenly leave again, I'll go looking for you if you do!" Roxanne replied immediately, beaming at him as he turned his head to glance at her. "I'll see you out there in a bit, Alpha."

And then, to her great satisfaction and surprise, he smiled at her.

"Until then, Roxy." He then left the room and closed the door behind him, bowing his head at her as he did so. Roxanne sighed happily and lay back down to rest a little more. In her moment of bliss, she temporarily forgot about the peculiar dream she experience the night prior…

 _..._

 **"You made it past the first step. Now, keep going..."**


	8. Chapter 8

**Another week, another chapter! :) Not much in this chapter, just some progression with training. How was last chapter, by the way? It's hard knowing whether or not they're any good when met with silence XD EXCEPT for one reviewer and our ever-constant reviewer, A.G.W.N.S.**

 **Spotlight fanfic of the week goes to:**

" **The Broken Soldier" by M10m gas mask soldier (Honestly, I haven't read much of this but HE read it over maybe two times and DEMANDED for me to give it the spotlight for this week). It takes place in the F.E.A.R. universe, which is a horror/1st POV shooter series and is rated M. And warning from Nyx, it supposedly contains lemons (I'd hear him curse and scroll over those scenes whenever he reads it, my little bro so innocent when it comes to those types of things XD) and LOTS of humor. There's currently 68 chapters, in progress, and about 412k words. Give it a read if you want!**

 **Shoutout to TristanLeo, for reviewing! Looking forward to your further reads (if that makes sense :D)**

 **Disclaimer: We do not own pokemon, but Nintendo does. We only own our OC's and plot. (Also, more references in the story so see if you can catch them!)**

 **Chapter 8: Braving the Elements**

 _ **With Hugh…**_

 _...What?_ Hugh rubbed his eyes, blinking before staring at the eighteen floating orbs. Each had a color of its own, or different hues of another. They were all shaped differently as well. For example, one was constantly fluctuating as if it was liquid and another flowed and crackled, as if it was fire. In the center of the circle of floating orbs was a...Jirachi?

So should he start making wishes?

"Step closer, you two." came the voice of Alpha. Hugh glanced at Roxanne to his right, wondering if she was just as anxious as him. He could tell that she was, though it was probably his imagination. Behind him, his partners watched with worry. Returning his attention to the floating orbs, Hugh stepped closer, as did Roxanne. When he looked at Alpha for further instruction, he managed to capture one of the orbs in his view at the same time Alpha's tail swayed into sight. That was when he noticed it. The orb, as well as Alpha's tail, were both cackling with embers and radiated heat. _Today's the start of the second quarter, isn't it?_

And it was. He realized that each orb represented a typing, all eighteen of them. Well, he wasn't sure if Normal could be counted as one, as it was the only orb that lacked any special features. It looked like a simple floating ball. Nevertheless, he was still anxious.

"Come on, you two." Aurora said as she crossed her arms, smiling. "You need to let Lady Jirachi strengthen your attunements. She motioned for the small Legendary to explain.

 _If you two are to learn the eighteen forms,_ the Jirachi said, _you must allow me to do what I'm here for. Please, take hold of arms. It does not matter who needs to go first._ With that, the Jirachi spread her arms, waiting for the humans to make their decision.

Deciding to might as well do it, Hugh shrugged and stepped forth. "I'll go first. But, I have a question."

 _Yes?_

"Are there any side-effects to gaining any one of these?" He didn't want to develop a Fire-typing then suddenly go up in flames or be forced to eat charcoal for the rest of his life...The thought was pretty funny to think about, actually.

The Jirachi shook her head. _The only thing that comes with adopting one of the eighteen forms is labor. Harsh and continuous training until you can master and submit them to your will with but a thought._ Great.

"Well," Hugh said apprehensively, "might as well get this over with." He slowly held onto the Jirachi's arms and almost gasped when he felt a surge of power flow in a cycle between him and the Legendary. He saw the world spin, his balance failing, and a new...something, growing within. Hugh almost let out a groan, it was painful as well.

He felt the feeling grow and grow, the pain fading away more with every second. Soon, he felt nothing but energy flow within him. And that was not all, he felt an intense warmth, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. _Wait.._ There was another feeling, this one strong and it seemed to sync well with the other feeling. He felt his body strengthen itself, as if there wasn't blood flowing through his veins, but wires of the hardest fiber.

It was indescribable as the two feelings pooled within. He felt like he was swimming in a sea of power, though there were no currents or pressure fighting against his muscles. Hugh felt like he could run for miles and miles and come back, only to be slightly winded. His hair was still on end, his muscles, of which had been developed nicely over the course of the couple of months they had spent training so far, were tingling as if they were metal coils threatening to spring. Even his breathing felt good! It was almost as if he could breathe through every pore in his body. And then, the euphoria calmed and left Hugh shakily breathing excitedly.

The Jirachi lowered her arms, prompting Hugh to let go. Hugh looked himself over, starting at his palms before looking at the rest of his body. "How do I tell what typing I...have..?" He looked up, as did the rest of them. It began to rain lightly, the clouds were like a dark blanket over the sky above them. The rumbling of thunder sounded from the clouds, as did the crashes of lightning.

It wasn't until Hugh felt himself reaching for the sky that they felt the sudden change in atmosphere in their area. The air tasted metallic and warmed before a flash streaked across the sky, the white bolt directly striking Hugh's raised hand. "Hugh!" he heard Roxanne shout, feeling her worry.

But he wasn't hurt, nor was he worried himself. He felt the electricity traveling all around his body in natural, but strengthened currents. Hugh relished the feeling, somehow managing to manipulate the electricity to flow through certain areas that ached in his body and feeling them warm with relief. He then noticed his heat-rate slowly quickening, deciding to direct the electricity downward.

Looking at his feet, he watched the electricity discharge into the ground. However, some seemed to be drawn towards his body or lingered for some time before flowing into the ground. Strange...Then again, he survived a lightning strike without any injuries. Unfortunately, his clothes were seemingly the only thing affected by the lightning as there were singed holes spotting multiple areas. He wasn't that worried though, he had other sets of clothes. It was getting a little breezy though, but at least the thunderstorm stopped.

"You're of the Electric now, Hugh." Alpha remarked. "But, it seems like that is not all…"

"Wh-What?" Hugh could barely contain his energy. _But holy crap if it doesn't feel good!_ "What do-do you mean?" The Fenrir simply answered him by picking up a pebble. Alpha tossed it in the air and caught it with his other hand. He then looked at Hugh before casually flicking the pebble towards the human at high speeds.

Hugh didn't know why, but he felt like he shouldn't be worried as the pebble soared towards his face. In fact, he boldly braced himself for the projectile, waiting for it to connect and possibly leave him with a bleeding scratch or something.

 _*ping!*_

 _...What in the…?_ Hugh watched the pebble ricochet off his face and buried itself deeply into the ground. A second later, he felt some pain register in his face, though not as much as he thought it would be.

"You're a dual-type, Electric and Steel." Aurora explained with a smile.

"So he's not just hard-headed?" Roxanne decided to quip with a smirk. Ignoring the playful insult for the moment, Hugh eyed the Legendaries with narrowed eyes.

"Electric _and_ Steel?"

"Yes. It explains why the lightning homed in directly to your palm so accurately and quickly. Even though you're partly Electric-type, being Electric-type alone wouldn't gain a result such as that even with such mastery over it." Alpha explained. "Had it not been for your Steel typing, the lightning bolt would've struck near you or somewhere random on your body. But, your arm and palm acted as a lightning rod, so to speak. It also explains why it took some effort for the electricity to discharge, your entire body is a conductor."

"And it looks like you can strengthen your body's durability at will too." Aurora commented. "But we'll get into the applications later, we need to test Roxanne next." Nodding after a second of taking in all the information he had just been told, Hugh stepped back towards his partners as Roxanne prepared to make contact with the Jirachi.

 _Are you alright, Master?_ Rift asked.

"I'm just fine, Rift." Hugh nodded at Oculus reassuringly as well. "I just need to get used to this new feeling.." He went silent as the Jirachi raised her arms.

Roxanne hesitantly held onto the Jirachi's arms before a gasp escaped her lips. Her veins made themselves visible through her skin, but there was something...off.

Either her blood was a really dark red, so dark red that they even showed through the blue veins, or the dark red was really _black_.

It spread throughout her entire body, as far as Hugh knew from what he was seeing. Roxanne's pupils also took up the majority of her eyes, they grew large and left little to no white of the sclera. Hugh also noted his shadow, along with other shadows nearby in their area, danced wildly. Shuddering at the creepiness that was going on at the moment, Hugh decided to take a wild guess at Roxanne's new typing.

 _She's a Dark-type now, isn't she?_ They waited for a moment for the process to end, though when Roxanne groaned and held herself, they realized that it was not done. Roxanne's arms fell to her sides as she suddenly stood erect, her fists clenching. She then rolled her shoulders and neck around, bringing up her legs to stretch her calves before exhaling and releasing Jirachi. Hugh watched her lightly bounce on the balls of her feet, though she stopped after consciously realizing what she was going. "Roxanne, you feeling alright?"

"I feel...just fine, Hugh." She brought an arm across her chest and pulled, stretching it. "I just have this weird urge to work out now."

"Another dual-typing, Dark and Fighting." Alpha stated. Hugh noted that his eyes held some sort of...satisfaction within, as did Roxanne's though her own eyes expressed it much more obviously. Alpha then picked up a rock this time, this one considerable larger than the one the pebble he flicked at Hugh. "Strike this rock out of the air, please." He then tossed the rock. And when it got within Roxanne's proximity, she quickly, almost like a blur, erected a fist to the rock.

They saw the rock fracture into a plethora of pieces before it exploded around her, resembling an effect similar to that of a standard shotgun spray. It was a cool sight to Hugh, seeing her barely putting any effort or force into the move and still resulting the rock to be utterly demolished. _Wonder what she can do with her Dark-typing…_

It was as if his question was heard, as Roxanne suddenly brought up an arm and with gritted teeth and some visible effort, launched what Hugh recognized as a **Night Slash** , of all attacks he expected to see (he figured he would see a smaller scale move like the standard **Shadow Ball** ), at Alpha. When she did, several small tears appeared in her clothes due to her own attack, evidence that she would need quite some practice handling her new abilities.

Hugh watched Alpha redirect the **Night Slash** with a simple twitch of the hand, but the attack cleaved through the ground next to him. But it didn't stop on impact, it traveled for a good few meters before dissipating completely. "Powerful, but slightly unstable. We'll work on that." Alpha stated, Roxanne smiling.

"So. uh, you're just going to ignore the fact that she attacked you just now without warning?" Hugh decided to ask.

"Yeah, that was just me acting on..instinct?" Roxanne said, not sounding very sure of herself and frowning.

"Whatever the case, the process is done and the second quarter of training will begin." Alpha said as he nodded to the Jirachi. The Wish pokemon simply bowed and disappeared with a flash of light. "We'll start with you two getting used to your new typings first before heading into attacks and the like."

"Should we see if they can handle telepathy and all that good stuff before anything?" Aurora asked. "That should be the simplest thing to learn out of everything, to see whether or not they can do it."

"I agree. But it will be tedious. It would be much simpler to just impart the knowledge to them and have them learn it instantaneously."

"Wait." They looked at Roxanne. "How will you do that?" Hugh was curious as well. To know something without having to actually learn it...That would be like breathing, right? So, knowing telepathy and whatever else that came with it and using it as simply as breathing would be amazing!

Hugh only had little experience with telepathy, thanks to Rift. But if someone were to ask, he wouldn't be able to actively communicate with the Alakazam mentally at all unless the latter initiates the connection first. And even then, Rift would have to read most of Hugh's thoughts to know what he wanted to get across. The idea of projecting your thoughts or only certain things one would want another to know was something he couldn't fully grasp. Hugh didn't know how one could do that without projecting various other thoughts or anything personal as well.

"There's not much to explain." the Akirari said, smiling. "We'll just send you the information. That way, you two can try tele/psychokinesis on your own. If you can't do it, then no worries. But at the very least, you should be able to communicate telepathically."

"What is the difference between telekinesis and psychokinesis by the way?" Oculus asked. At that moment, Hugh's earpiece beeped and signaled that it would run out of power soon. He'd give it maybe another few minutes before he'd have to go and charge it.

"Telekinesis is the ability to interact with, move, or manipulate objects without physical contact at all though can be directed or channeled more accurately using hand gestures or movements." They looked at Ryker now. "Psychokinesis is more or less the same, but with and only with the mind while excluding any gestures and such as guides. It can also be more powerful in some cases, as well as more influencing with lingering spirits of the world or anything similar." He then demonstrated telekinesis, lifting yet another rock with a hand gesture before glancing pointedly at another rock and lifting that as well. "They are very similar in effect, so that's why many people today, including pokemon professors and scientists as you well know, just refer to any interaction with an object with direct or physical contact as Psychic to be simple."

"Oh.." Oculus nodded in understanding. "Wait, why didn't I ask you this before, Rift?"

 _I was just wondering that myself, Oculus._

Laughing at his silly Noctowl, Hugh shook his head. "So, about the whole information transfer thing.."

"Right." Aurora walked up to Hugh and placed an open palm on his forehead. In the next few seconds, Hugh processed everything Aurora knew about what they had just discussed. He had a feeling that he could do it, also feeling excited to try it out. Aurora stepped away before he knew it, also holding up a hand in a way to tell him to wait before he tried to attempt anything.

"Your turn." Hugh said to Roxanne. He expected Alpha to do the same to Roxanne, but the Fenrir simply remained still and slightly bowed his head. The next thing he knew, Roxanne mouthed "Ohhhh." as if she suddenly understood something.

"One at a time guys. Roxanne, you go first since Hugh went first with the typings." Aurora instructed as she held up a stick. "Since we know that you two can already speak telepathically without a problem-"

"Do we?"

"You do, trust us." Aurora said with a laugh. "The only thing we'll probably have to help you with is building a wall around your mind to prevent excess thoughts from leaking or anyone trying to read yours without permission. Attacks too." She then cleared her throat. "Anyway, try getting this stick out of my hand. Do whichever method you find easier or more efficient, you're not limited to using telekinesis or psychokinesis."

 _I can't wait to try myself...Just imagine how many people will come to my magic shows._ Hugh joked to himself, actually considering it for a moment. _Nah, I'll be busy being a Knight._ He returned his attention to Roxanne and Aurora.

The former narrowed her eyes at the stick, she seemed to be concentrating on moving the stick with only her mind without her hands for guides. She even began to sweat as the stick in Aurora's hand shook. "Don't strain yourself, Roxanne." Aurora advised. Roxanne eased up on her concentrating but after a while, the stick still didn't move from Aurora's grip. Roxanne sighed, resorting to direct the psychic intent with an open hand, almost clawed, towards the stick.

Finally, the stick violently shot from Aurora's hand and floated in the air. "Nice, Roxanne!" Hugh congratulated, happy for her success. Oh, how he so very wanted to try it out as well now. If he ever felt unconfident about fighting an opponent in close-quarters combat, he could always mop the floor with them...Which can be taken literally too.

"Great, Roxanne." Aurora smiled.

"Now, try and split the stick in two, Roxanne." Alpha said as he put his hands in his pockets. Hugh noted that the Fenrir had been acting a bit more casual lately, a bit less strict or cold and easing up on that drill-instructor vibe. It was a nice change, Hugh thought it would make it easier for them to develop more of a friend-to-friend relationship than a teacher-to-student one, he would even take a balanced relationship between the two over the mostly one sided teacher-to-student.

"Rox _y_." Roxanne corrected, almost glaring at him.

"Rox _y_." Alpha placated, chuckling. The sound was still so foreign to Hugh, he had a double-take upon hearing the Fenrir. He saw that Aurora almost did so as well, though the Akirari had to tap her ears once or twice to test if they were actually working.

Smiling victoriously and nodding, Roxanne focused on the stick again and almost immediately, the stick snapped into two. "There, now what?"

"Have them side by side, please." Roxanne did so and Hugh wondered what the Fenrir was planning. "Now, quickly send the top end of the stick on your left into the ground an inch away from my left foot. At the same time, slowly send the bottom end of the stick on your right into the ground an inch away from my right foot."

"Oh, I see." Aurora said. "It'll help determine how well she can control the speed, direction, and overall accuracy of whatever object she's manipulating." As she said this, Alpha walked back a few meters before turning to face them again.

 _Ohhh. And I just thought he was trying to be complicated._ Hugh thought. "You can do it, Roxanne. I'd just use your hands to help. You know, just in case you send one of the sticks into his foot…" Roxanne gave Hugh a rather nice display of a single raised finger from her hand.

"Don't jinx me, please." she said as everyone else chuckled. She then focused again, Hugh could tell she was nervous now. Would it be his fault? After all, he did tell her that she could possibly ending up stabbing one of Alpha's feet. The right stick shouldn't be worrying much, as it was the one that she needed to send _slowly_ to the ground, but it was the left stick that he was concerned for.

And so, when they all saw both of the sticks sail fly towards their intended spots by Alpha's feet, both _very fast_ , Hugh held his breath. In that split-second, he saw Aurora's eyes narrowed in worry and Roxanne's eyes expressing increasing horror.

The left stick went perfectly as planned, sinking an inch away from Alpha's right foot with its top end. It was the right stick, however-oh, the irony-, that went awry. Instead of going slowly, it went just as fast as the left stick. The bottom end sunk into the ground as planned, but it actually took some of Alpha's shoe, as a strip of the outer layer of his foot it seemed, with it. Alpha looked at the sticks before looking at Roxanne.

 _Oh geez, she's shaking._ He could see how horrified she was at her mistake. Hugh thought that it would be the one time they'd hear Alpha lose his temper and possibly yell at her for her blunder. They had made some mistakes in the first quarter of training too, though he never once yelled at them or even berated them. Sure, he had been stern at those times, but never angry with them.

So when the Fenrir opened his mouth to speak, the four of them took a breath to prepare what may be him expressing some pain-induced anger.

"Cutting it a little too close, are we?" Alpha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

…

"We'll work on your control for sure." was the next thing Alpha said. Sprinting over, Roxanne almost tripped to a stop as she hunched over his foot.

"Oh Arceus! Alpha, I'm so sorry!" she panicked as she tried to do something about his foot. Several times, she made a move as if she was going to start fixing the injury, only to withdraw her hands in hesitation. Alpha only shook his head.

"Mistakes can happen, and don't worry. I will get to healing it later." the Fenrir said as he looked back down at his bleeding foot. He let out a quiet snort, resulting in a bolt of flame that seared across the bleeding strip of flesh. A few seconds later, the fire died away and the wound was seared shut.

"A-Are you-?" Roxanne tried to get the rest of her words to form, but couldn't. Hugh only winced, knowing how hurting Alpha must've caused her inner pain as she was rather close to him.

 _I think he'll be okay_. Hugh thought as he noted Alpha's truly unconcerned expression, he wasn't expressing even the slightest of pain. He then noticed Alpha's nod towards him, signaling that it was his turn. _Now let's see if I can avoid doing that same exact thing…_

…

 _ **With Daina…**_

 _ **Oh my-she really screwed up with that one!**_ Daina snickered in Alpha's head. The Fenrir acknowledged her with a mental shake of his mind, letting her know that it wasn't all that amusing. _**Oh, come on! You have to admit, that was pretty damn funny, nii!-**_ **(AN: No quotation marks here since she's speaking within his mind, the others do not know about her so don't think that her speech structure has completely changed)**

 _Perhaps, though you have to consider the fact that it was her very first attempt at doing that._

 _ **It's STILL funny, that's the point I'm trying to make.**_ was her retort.

 _Ah, sometimes, I just wish you still need to spend a few more hours sleeping._

 _ **...You don't mean that...Nii?**_

 _Of course, I don't. I'd get lonely otherwise._ His mental tone had very subtle amusement.

 _ **...But don't you prefer solitude?**_ Oh, how she hated the times she _couldn't_ get a read on him. His words oftentimes had double-meanings or some sort of hidden message within them. Other times, his words would be contradictory in one perspective, but would make perfect sense in another.

 _Solitude and being alone are two different things, Daina._ She supposed that was true, but he still didn't answer her question.

 _ **Why can't you ever be straightforward?**_

 _I am-._

 _ **Straightforward without being all cryptic or intentionally confusing.**_ When she didn't get an answer except for an amused chuckle resonating, she simply threw her hands up in the air with an annoyed sigh. She decided to lounge in her chair in the planes of Alpha's mind, the area she was in intentionally set up to be her room of sorts whenever she decided to stray from his sword. Looking around his mind, she spotted the usual blank planes and thoughts that he processed. In one particular area, one that was rather small and compact, it was completely black and impenetrable..not that she tried peeking in there, of course. She just knew that out of everything there, that particular spot exuded most of what he usually kept to himself and radiated with his negative feelings and thoughts, all blocked or dulled in some way.

 _ **Wow, Hugh was spot on.**_ she remarked to him as she saw the two sticks sink in next to the Fenrir's feet, perfectly as instructed.

 _Yes, he has almost perfect control over it._ Daina watched Ryker's vision shift from the ground to Hugh was sighing in relief some meters away. "We won't need to work on control with you, Hugh. I suspect that your time with Rift and the training all three of you do on your own time is a great factor in this."

Hugh, the boy Daina thought was pretty well in training despite his laid-back tendencies. She always found him to be the link in the group, and even though he shied away from Ryker's cold disposition sometimes, he did his very best keeping Ryker from distancing them. He was also withdrawn at times, whenever everyone else was focused on something other than him. It was easy for both her and Ryker to spot this, but Hugh was never called out on it. The Fenrir suspected that it was because of the fact that Hugh had to practically leave behind his family with serving under the two Arceus.

And then there was Roxanne, or "Roxy" as Ryker had to call her (she still teases him about that, she did earlier). She was actually similar to her nii in a few ways. While the girl was always quick to smile and have fun spending time with everyone, there was something..dark-no, not the newly-acquired Dark-typing-within her. While it wasn't to the extent Ryker was going about it, Daina was personally worried that Roxanne might fall down the same path.

Also, she was to be the one to help Ryker out of his self-sustaining/inflicted hell. While the Fenrir had a habit to retreat to his mind as it was his "sanctuary", as he often called it, it really factored in his decline. He was constantly trapped in his thoughts, doubting, fearing, hating, pleading...Daina knew that she had helped him through a great deal of it all, but she knew Roxanne-No, she'll call her Roxy from now on, it was cuter-would be the one to help him through the last set of steps. _Baby steps, Ryker, baby steps._ Finally, there was something else with her, something that Roxy wasn't sure of herself. It was funny, actually, for even if Roxy did know and she expressed it openly, Daina's nii would be too dense to recognize it.

Aurora was actually a bit unsure of the Fenrir. With everyone else though, she was 100%. While she had complete confidence and trust in Ryker, she wasn't as...Hm, how to put it. The Akirari's relationship with Ryker was actually unstable, the slightest wrong move on Ryker's end would be enough to make her cautious and unnerved. Still though, she was one to keep in Ryker's small bubble, like the other two.

There was something else about the Akirari. She was very loyal to her duty (if that made sense), and to the two Arceus. That was a problem though, to Daina. That loyalty might get her trapped in a difficult decision one day, one that she would be forced to make. And whether or not she'd like it, or if it was for the better or not, the decision _will_ come one day, Daina was sure of it.

As for Hugh's two pokemon partners...To be honest, Daina didn't really spend much time studying them. While they were significantly above average compared to other pokemon now, they held no significant detail Daina would deem...influencing. Sure, they were great companions and all, but...they were just not much in her eyes. It was like when you think of your best friend, then think of their best friends of whom, you're not really acquainted with. While they might be a great deal of importance to your best friend, it wouldn't necessarily mean that they would be very important to you.

It was harsh, but eh. Daina blamed Ryker for his coldness she picked up on.

Daina watched with disinterest as the Fenrir and Akirari began to teach the two humans the basics of ranged combat involving their new powers, also including the Noctowl and Alakazam in their lectures to further expand their knowledge with any information they hadn't known before.

"For example, Hugh, you can apply your dual-typing for things like magnetism." Ryker said.

"Magnetism?"

"Yes. It is simple, really, to grasp. What happens when you charge two metals with electricity, one with a positive charge and one with a negative charge?" Ooh, she liked the way her nii was thinking.

"They become attracted to each other."

"Yes, and what if they both have the same charge?"

"...Then they repel..?" Come on, Hugh! You'll get it! Think of what he's implying!

"And you can will your body to have similar properties to steel, and there are also many minerals and metals in the ground." Okay, with that one, Hugh should get it.

"...Are you saying that I can make myself float or fly if I charge my body one way and the metals in the ground another?"

 _ **There you go, Hugh! Proud of ya!**_

"That's just one way you can apply your dual-typing. You can learn and discover more as time goes on."

Deciding to zone out the rest of the conversation, Daina began focusing on Roxy, smiling. _**So, I gave her a boost in her senses. I wonder if she's noticed...**_ She had figured it was a good idea to do so those two months ago, a gift, if she wanted to be honest since she really had no reason to. Either way, she did it and no one can complain about it. She was a soul, damn it, she could do things like that.

After about an hour, the two Legendaries sending projectiles for the humans to dodge at this point, Daina sighed when she spotted her nii's blank expression. He was always like this during any sort of combat, even with sparring. One of these days, she'd have another talk with him about that. He shouldn't have to be so emotionless all the time, but at least he was getting better with the past couple of months.

Clasping her hands to her chest, Daina closed her eyes and swayed her body slightly side to side. She then began to sing, keeping her words muted to her nii even though they resonated everywhere in the planes in his mind.

" **Nor dread nor hope attend**

 **A dying animal;**

 **A man awaits his end**

 **Dreading and hoping all…"**

She paused, shaking her head and sighing.

" **Many times he died,**

 **Many times rose again."**

She hummed for a little bit, immersing himself more.

" **A great man in his pride**

 **Confronting murderous men**

 **Casts derision upon**

 **Supersession of breath;**

 **He knows death to the bone**

 **Man has created death."**

Opening her eyes, she glared at seemingly nothing. Her eyes smoldered with anger at the memory of all those who wronged her nii. She was so angry at that moment, in fact, that as much as she wanted to sing, she couldn't. And while the memory of many traitors she and Ryker had encountered, the informant that had killed her was the first one that came to mind.

…

" _Can we go flying again?" Daina asked as she sat next to the Fenrir, the latter had already casted an illusion to keep his wings and horns hidden. It was another thing on her list of things to learn and do in the future...and the list was gradually growing with the more time she spent with him._

" _We had just landed not five minutes ago after an hour or so of flying." Alpha replied. They were seated outside of a cafe, a small table separated them along with a small umbrella that was opened to provide some shade._

" _...Fine." she pouted. Alpha only shrugged, focusing on the time. "When are you leaving again?" She hoped that it wouldn't be soon, she had grown to like being around him. Sure, the grump could work on his people skills, and actually express some concern when it came to other people around him, but his company was still enjoyable. Including the times when he pointedly ignored her. Hey, how else would she react to seeing a fire-breathing, winged wolf that took down a Original dragon of all things? Stay silent? Nope, she would rather keep up a volley of questions in order to learn more about him. And oh well if she had been annoying him with those questions._

 _Because why the hell not?_

" _I'm leaving in ten minutes to meet with my contact before I return to my employer." Aww. Why so soon? Sighing though knowing she couldn't do much about it, Daina simply blew into her straw. Bubbles formed in her coffee and they circled around the cup faster and faster the more air she blew through the straw._

" _You keep saying 'employer', who's that?" The Fenrir glanced at her, an eyebrow raised at what must be her umpteenth question in the couple hours they'd known each other. Before answering, Alpha waved away a waitress who came by to check on them._

" _That information is on a need-to-know basis and quite frankly, Daina, you're not in on it." Oh, she wanted to just pinch his ever-blank face and yell at him for an answer. Rather than doing that though, she smiled as she decided to simply try to annoy him as much as possible._

" _Why am I not in on it?"_

" _Because you do not have the credentials to."_

" _Why don't I have the credentials to know?"_

" _Because you haven't earned them through work like I have."_

" _Why haven't I-?"_

" _I advise you to stop right there or I will boil your coffee the moment you take a sip next time."_

" _...You're mean."_

" _And you believe I care for your opinions."_

" _..." Daina wondered how would he react to having some coffee drenching his fur. But she had to give it to him, if only she had iced coffee because in that case, she'd at least have some ice for the burn she'd just received._

" _I apologize, that was rude of me." Ah! All is forgiven._

" _Yeah, that's right. You'd better." Still though, Daina wondered what he had been going through to give a response such as that. It was so blunt and without hesitation, it couldn't have been a joke or lie. He had meant it, and with so much hidden hate lacing his tone. She knew it wasn't because of her personally, so she deduced that it was because of just people in general. She knew some individuals can be pretty nasty, a serial killer for one, but the Fenrir's response was as if said serial killer was also a child-murderer/rapist who also intentionally ran over all the puppies and kitties in the world and to top it off, eat the last piece of chocolate candy stored in the jar. Yeah, people like that were horrible beyond belief! And furthermore-!_

 _Ahem. Well, her thoughts went on a bit of a tangent there for a second._

" _Would you like another cup of coffee?" Alpha asked her as she finished her caffeinated (Alpha had strongly advised her against drinking caffeinated coffee at the age she was, but she didn't care) drink and grinned._

" _Yes, please." Alpha nodded and when their waitress approached sometime later, he ordered another cup. But this time, when Daina focused on criticising the chalk-art drawn on the sidewalks, he made sure to order the coffee decaffeinated._

" _Thank you. And please make sure it's decaffeinated, she's quite talkative." Alpha stated as Daina turned back around._

" _What was that?" she asked as the waitress walked away._

" _Nothing, I was talking to the waitress."_

 _They were later walking down the street. Alpha had suggested they start walking to meet the contact on time so Daina had to bring her foam cup of coffee from the cafe. Multiple times, the Fenrir had asked her if she'd like for him to drop her off anywhere since he would be leaving soon. And every time, her answer would be-._

" _For the last time, Alpha, no-oooo~." Daina said in sing-song as she walked alongside Alpha. At one point, she decided to grab his arm as they walked. The Fenrir almost threw her into the building to their right at the unexpected action, but Daina explained that she was only doing it because it reminded her of some sweet childhood memories with her family._

" _I was just asking in case you needed to go home, wherever your current home is." Daina laughed._

" _I'm a traveller, remember? And don't worry, I'll leave you alone when you need to go, Mr. Smiling-Is-Too-Hard-For-Me." She noted his ear twitched at the name she called him and tried to hold in, but failing, her giggling._

" _You are incorrigible."_

" _You don't mean that~."_

" _I do."_

" _No, you do-Wait, what does 'incorrigible' mean?" She didn't get an answer, so she simply settled for poking his side repeatedly. In the short while they had known each other, while the Fenrir showed slight irritation at a few points, he had never shown anger or true, genuine exasperation. Hence, the incessant poking._

 _And Daina would soon find that he wouldn't react in any way at all for the rest of their walk._

" _There, he is." Alpha suddenly said as he stopped. "Stay here, Daina, I'll be-."_

…

 _-still awake, Daina?_ Daina shook her head as Ryker's voice finally registered in her head. Daina nodded, only to remember that he could not see her in her current state.

 _ **Yep!**_ She said cheerily, seeing Ryker nodded almost imperceptibly to her as the others continued in their training. _**How goes it so far?**_

 _They are learning fast, as I suspected._ _This quarter of training will go by faster than the last, I am sure._ She watched through Ryker's eyes as the Fenrir breathed a fireball towards Hugh while Aurora sent steaming water at Roxanne, the two humans barely evaded the attacks. Rift and Oculus were constantly sending special attacks towards each other, as instructed, while also having weights tied to their bodies to make it harder for them to evade. _We should still take it slow in case, it is-_

 _ **Contractions, nii.**_

 _-it's only the basics, but what we'll do tomorrow might be much harder for them._

 _ **Either way, they're working hard and the efforts will show in the end result.**_

 _Indeed._

Later, when training ended, Ryker decided to split from the others as they went back to the house. He was walking towards the river some ways away, it seemed. All the while, the two made comments on several specific points during the training session about what to improve and what didn't need polishing.

"In any case," Ryker told her as he slowed to a stop before the river, "I'll be bathing in a moment. You should retreat to my sword and sleep or go on a walk somewhere for a bit." Figuring it was safe to talk aloud to him, Daina spoke with little restraint from his sword.

" **You got it. I think I'll take a quick nap while you wash up. Wake me up when you're done, 'kay?"**

"I'll wake you if it doesn't seem like you need more rest."

" **Yeah, yeah, just go scrub your dirty ass in the river. Make sure to get the base of your tail and in the nooks by your wings!"** she teased, prompting him to shake his head at her words. " **See you in a bit!"**

Daina felt herself retreat deeper into his sword, feeling colder and more restricted the deeper she went. She became used to the sensations already, though she still wished that it could be warmer and less cramped. Hm, perhaps she could ask her nii to help remedy the problem.

Settling in a meditative-like state, Daina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt her conscious begin to slip away, and the constant feeling that her soul was going to come loose from the sword every time she did this quickly made itself apparent. This feeling, she talked to Ryker about once more, fearing that the attachment of her soul to his sword was weakening and not strong enough to keep her in the world.

The Fenrir examined the bind and assured her that it wasn't anything to be afraid of, as her soul was likely to remain attached until the day he died or when she decided to leave. Daina never felt more relieved than she had that day, she had thought that she was going to leave her nii alone in the world and there was still so much in the regions for her to see.

Before succumbing fully to sleep, she decided to sing once more. She began to hum, smiling as a song came to mind. It was a bit morbid, sure, but she didn't mind much.

" **His soul burns with a fire of darkness,**

 **Quenched only in the pain of loneliness**

 **Of loneliness, he holds his breath waiting**

 **Until spots as black as the past fill his lungs up with lies of hope…**

 **He is marked black and jagged,**

 **To cover the scars-to hide the monster**

 **I only give you this warning, men of sin, seeking for your own pleasures**

 **To those who dare raise a sword against him**

 **To those who dare utter a insult to him**

 **To those who dare catch his wrath…**

 **This is not a place of honor,**

 **No esteemed dead are buried here**

 **None will be remembered as they were, if remembered at all**

 **None will ever embrace the warm light of day again…**

 **But, a word for the worthy,**

 **To those who dare offer their ears**

 **To those who dare offer their hands**

 **To those who dare offer their hearts**

 **This is a place of sorrow,**

 **No masked ones are welcomed here**

 **All words and actions will be remembered, pure and evil**

 **Tread lightly on this place…"**

* * *

" _ **Hey, nii, how do you always seem to come out on top whenever you get into a fight?"**_

" _It is because I fight to survive, not for any other reason."_

" _ **But what about them? Don't they fight for the same reason? To survive? To see tomorrow?"**_

" _Perhaps, but they do not understand what it means to kill an enemy, the mindset that drives you…"_

" _ **And what is this mindset?"**_

" _To rend one's enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects-hollow of spirit and meaning."_


	9. Chapter 9

**We're sorry we're late, but here's the 9th chapter guys. Hopefully, you'll find it enjoyable! XD**

 **No fanfic of the week this week, no shoutouts either.**

 **More references! Try to get them all!**

 **...Sorry, poor author's note/summary/whatever this time. XD Feeling really drained so hopefully, things will get up and running by the next update!**

 **Chapter 9: More Revelations**

 _ **With Aurora…**_

She scowled at the sight of them, the arrogant and haughty Darkstalkers filed into the large room and took their seats on their half of the circle. Many of them sneered at Legendary passerby, others made crude or insulting remarks. Those that at least had some mannerisms kept such remarks they may had to themselves and quietly went to their seats and waited for the meeting to start. _Their numbers have increased lately…_ Aurora thought, noting that the Darkstalkers had just about the same amount members in their ranks as there were those of the Council.. The Darkstalkers were like the unwelcome enforcers of the Legendaries, not all of them were of a Legendary species though they had just as much authority, some even more, as those of the Council.

To her left, Alpha sat, contemplating about something. To her right, a Groudon of the Council sat with irritation. It was no doubt directed towards the Darkstalkers, they all knew that many of them were corrupted as they usually indiscriminately hunted down Dark-types (mostly) their leaders deemed a threat to the regions.

Aurora almost shuddered. They had came after Nyx once, but Jeanne managed to vouch for the Umbreon as he was one of the Knights. However, they knew that Jeanne most likely could not pull something off like that again, as the jurisdiction of arresting "threats" fell under the Darkstalkers, not her own. As the Arceus had much authority, they knew that the Darkstalkers were around for many, many millennia and they did what they wanted to keep things in their best interests, for the most part.

 _Do you need to excuse yourself from this meeting, Lady Akirari?_ Aurora slowly faced Alpha who was gesturing to her paws with a wing. _I can always inform Lord or Lady Arceus that you cannot attend, I am sure they would not mind too much._

Oh boy, back to the formality and monotonous voice. Well, they were on duty and in the Hall of the Origins so she couldn't fault him. _No, no, that's unnecessary, Lord Fenrir._ She cemented her voice and quickly took a breath. _I was just thinking things over, and dealing with the Darkstalkers is always unpleasant._

 _I agree, though my opinion of them may be somewhat biased._ Aurora nodded, understanding what he meant. _They have been trying to arrest me ever since I made myself known here, it is only because they know that I am loyal to Lord and Lady Arceus and will not performed any unauthorized operations on my own._

 _But that didn't stop them from taking others who've pledged their loyalty. What makes you different, I wonder?_ Aurora replied, not really expecting him to answer though curious all the same. She watched him return his attention to the Darkstalkers on the other side of the room, smoke escaping in wisps from his nostrils.

 _They are biding their time for the perfect opportunity._ he eventually said as the last Darkstalker took his seat before a podium. _They know that if they were to try and apprehend me now, I will not go with them so willingly. They are waiting until either I am in a condition that leaves me weak, or for when their numbers increase so they would have better chances against me._

 _You seem sure of that._

 _I guarantee that. Of course, such confidence in my answer is only because of the fact that I have been keeping tabs on their operations, their plans._ This set off some alarms for Aurora, how come she didn't know until now? Did the two Arceus know? Or did the Darkstalkers suspect?

She was going to asking him about that later, she noted to herself, before directing her attention at the leader of the Darkstalkers who had just made his entrance.

Feran, the Manticore, walked in with a prideful stride, one could practically feel his sense of self-superiority. With a golden mane, scorpion tail, wings of an eagle, and the body as well as head of a lion, the formidable Manticore was no doubt a sight to see. He had an impressive physique as well, Aurora had to admit. His mane was well kept, his tail was shining like pearls, and there was not a single feather misplaced in his wings. He was truly like a king, and the golden armor he currently wore only supported the image. Word was that like Alpha, the Manticore was the last of his great species, something Aurora found truly a shame and very sad indeed as she did with her Fenrir friend.

Feran sat on his haunches before a large podium across the room, in front of the many Darkstalkers. He smiled, almost mockingly, as Jeanne and Darko nodded their acknowledgment to his presence. Darko was the one to speak first as everyone fell silent. _This meeting is now in effect. Lord Feran of the Manticore, leader of the Darkstalkers, state your reasoning for calling this meeting, if you please. Also, to everyone here, know that this an open-word meeting so you may speak whatever opinions or thoughts you may have. But refrain from insulting and attacking, or you will be personally be escorted out by myself._

 _Wait, so he was the one who called for the meeting?_ Aurora thought with a frown. _I'd bet it's about the Shadowed Saints._

"I've received word that an assassins of the Shadowed Saints have made attempts, though failed, to kill Knight recruits under your command." Feran announced, actually talking verbally despite not being in an anthropomorphic form, and his statement causing multiple participants of the meeting to mutter their thoughts to each other on the matter. Aurora frowned further, so there _were_ multiple assassination attempts other than the one made on Hugh and Roxanne. Few of the Council gasped audibly, as it was the first time they had heard of it. "I want to know what actions you are or will be taking about the situation."

 _Before we answer that, we want to know how could you have possibly learned of the attacks. We've taken measures to keep that information confidential until we feel ready to release the announcement._ Jeanne replied. Feran smiled.

"I have a few subordinates working to assist some of the Council, one of them is actually in an intimate relationship with the one she worked under. She unintentionally learned of the information from her mate." This caused some eyes to widen.

 _Is that so?_ Darko asked, narrowing his eyes at the Uxie who Aurora remembered as the one who scanned her memories of the attack. _To answer your question, we have decided to stay our hand for now as we cannot provide concrete evidence that the Shadowed Saints are responsible. Simply charging them and accusing them of the assassination attempts without taking the time to exchange words would cause a bloody conflict. We do not need unnecessary bloodshed._

"I have to disagree with you. While unnecessary bloodshed is ideal, I believe actions should be taken towards the Shadowed Saints." The Manticore then glared at them. "We cannot allow these infractions to continue, we must cut off the head of the serpent before they make another attempt."

 _Why do you challenge their decision?_ Heads turned to a wizened Lugia. _They are our leaders, we follow their every command. If they want to hold off on attacking the Shadowed Saints, which would reduce the risk of a war as we all know, then we should. Lord Feran, do you WISH for lives to be lost? Families to lose loved ones?_

"You talk as if the world is all glitter and rainbows. It is _necessary_ to take action, you cannot just sit and talk your way through problems while everyone develops gray hair. And you bring up family and loss...What do you think happens when they move to attack _us_ then? I assure you that they'll make a move first if we don't soon enough. It is better to get ahead of them while we can."

As the Manticore and participants of the meeting went on and argued, Aurora gave Alpha a light nudge. _What do you think?_

The Fenrir broke his contemplative stare from the Manticore and shifted, stretching his wings before furling them back into place. _If Lord and Lady Arceus wants to negotiate or wait rather than attack, then wait, we shall._ Aurora noted that he dodged his own personal preference. _And you, Lady Akirari?_

 _Likewise._ Aurora answered. _It is the safer and smarter way to go about it. And I do admit, it's also because of the fact that I'd rather not fall into their plans, it would be uncomfortable knowing that whatever you're doing is under their watch and all._ Aurora saw him nod, she almost visibly expressed her concern when he frowned. _Is there something bothering you?_

The Fenrir shook his head. _It is not so much bothering, as it is curious. I am simply wondering how this meeting will end..._ He subtly gestured at Feran. _He wants me imprisoned, and the Shadowed Saints want to recruit me. I figure that it would not be surprising if he somehow manipulates that information to get me._

 _Wait, the Shadowed Saints want you?_ Aurora stared at him with concern this time, why would the Shadowed Saints want him? Of course, having the Fenrir at their side would be...catastrophic, and extremely beneficial to the sinister group. But, there had to be something else, for the aforementioned reasons alone weren't all that good enough for Aurora. They'd have to get through _a lot_ of trouble if they wanted Alpha in their ranks. And the way she saw it, it was either through coercion (but she really couldn't fathom the idea of them forcibly getting Alpha to join, he was not one to go quietly and easily) or somehow, through persuasion.

The latter was what scared her. If they resorted to that, how would they approach with it? Alpha was already on the wary side of most of the Legendaries there, and the Darkstalkers were after him as well, it probably wouldn't take much for the Shadowed Saints to find a common goal that they shared with Alpha. And while Alpha was certainly loyal to the Arceus and wouldn't betray them, as well as herself and the others, it was entirely possible for the Shadowed Saints to find some way around that. Who knows? They could probably strike a deal with the Fenrir that would somehow fit-to help them gain control of the Hall of Origins and the Council while leaving the Arceus alone (Aurora doubted they would do that) as well as everyone else the Fenrir held dear, all the while benefitting Alpha in some way too.

It was something Aurora didn't want to think about, but she found that she couldn't. The idea of Alpha switching sides to "liberate" and give more rights to all of those of the Dark (that was the Dark Saint's goal) proved to be stuck fast in her thoughts. And in the end, Aurora just hoped that the day would never come. As it would force her to chose sides.

To chose between her duty, and her friend.

Suddenly feeling tired, Aurora tried to refocus on the meeting. Some time had passed since she tuned it out, the Akirari wondered if what she was feeling was what Alpha always felt after giving himself up to his thoughts. _Wait, why is he staring..._ The Manticore was staring her way, and Aurora almost shivered at his sneer. However, after realizing what he was actually staring at, Aurora glanced at the Fenrir with a frown.

"-leads me to my next point. Potential spies." Feran announced as more murmuring spread among the Council. "We all know that it is very possible, what with the giveaway sigil of the Shadowed Saints can be easily hidden through a simple utter of a spell." Feran then smiled, something Aurora found to distrust much. "And think, how did they find out about the new recruits? How is it, that they managed to track down each Knight-in-training to their designated training post? Someone here in the Halls…" Aurora followed his line of sight as he let the sentence hang for a moment, he was once again eyeing the Fenrir next to her with narrowed eyes. "...Someone incredibly resourceful that no one here knows much about, except for the fact that he is in your ranks."

 _Oh no..._ Aurora nearly spoke her mind to the Manticore when she realized what he was implying, but the Fenrir somehow knew what she was trying to do and held out a paw in front of her to keep her at bay. He shook his head, returning his attention to the Manticore.

"We all know who he is." Feran continued without interruption, it was surprisingly silent. "You may see him come and go from time to time, doing covert operations without anyone questioning him, somehow remaining off the radar and out of sight whenever he's not on one of the Arceus' assignments." The Manticore smiled challengingly at Alpha, and Aurora almost stood up in outrage from her spot. "He has no reason to help us with our cause, but he does so anyway. And without question. One may claim that he is loyal to our all-powerful god and goddess, though he could always work around that by simply pulling strings and not getting himself involved directly."

 _What are you getting at, Feran?_ The Manticore's expression faltered at that moment, changing from smug to shock as he and everyone else registered the irritation and anger in Darko's tone, as well as the fact that the Arceus didn't include an honorific **AN: ("Lord" Feran)** when he addressed the Manticore. Aurora was surprised as well. Darko was usually very patient, and was not one to be angered easily. The Arceus shared that trait with Alpha, though the Aurora had yet to see the Fenrir angry at someone, or something.

Recovering from his momentary surprise, Feran quickly narrowed his eyes with distrust and disdain at the Fenrir sitting next to Aurora. "I was getting to that. What I'm saying, is that the Fenrir under your command may not be as loyal as a dog as you may think he is."

 _You will take back that insult and hold your tongue if you cannot refrain from uttering more from this point on!_

 _Wow, she's angry._ Aurora thought with a shiver. That one came from Jeanne, the goddess of pokemon glowered at the Manticore.

 _Lord Fenrir has been nothing but loyal, and he's been contributing more to the Council and the rest of the Halls far more than most everyone here now._ Jeanne said in a calmer tone, but with an edge. _It is incredulous that you would think him to be anything otherwise. He has not shown any reason for us to distrust him, and he never will. I have complete faith in all of the Legendaries here, Feran, you do well to remember that before coming up with an accusation like that again._

"But does it not make sense?" Feran retorted, gesturing to everyone there. "Does anyone here know of his true origins?" Feran didn't get a reply, and Aurora was tempted to plead to the Fenrir to come forth with the information to her so that she could defend him. "Has anyone witnessed any assignments he took on? Or has anyone seen him outside the Hall of Origins at all?" Feran growled. "I've also heard that no one here knows where to find him in these Halls. Why would he seclude himself that much without a reason?"

Again, he was met with silence as the Legendaries considered his words. Aurora spotted several look Alpha's way with uncertainty, though the Fenrir never acknowledged them. Alpha's gaze had been on the Manticore ever since the accusation was made.

 _Feran, you do not have any evidence at all to support your accusation._ Darko said coldly as Jeanne simply remained glowering at the Manticore. _Unless you do, Lord Fenrir is innocent._

"With all due respect, Lord Arceus," Feran almost snarled, "do you not _see_? He's not even trying to defend himself? It is because we've trapped him into a corner, he's not able to deny everything I've said. Just _who_ is he, other than the fact that he's a Fenrir with mastery of Fire and _Void_ , of all Dark elements! _Where_ does he go or what does he do when he's not on one of your assignments? Sleep? Serenading a potential love interest? I think not. And the question that has been nagging me all this time, just _why_ does he offer his services to you?"

" **You seem to be grasping at straws, Lord Feran of the Darkstalkers."**

And it was silent. Neither Arceus were trying a retort against Feran, not one Legendary was whispering to another about the situation, even the Darkstalkers went quiet. Aurora slowly turned her head and had to steel herself, trying not to step back at the cold, yet furiously blazing stare Alpha was giving the Manticore. The Fenrir stood up and almost casually, powerfully, made his way to the center of the large chamber. Not one word was uttered as he closed the distance between him and Feran, the latter glared at him the entire way.

Once Alpha reached the Manticore, the Fenrir simply stood there. " **While your reasoning is valid in a few ways, your belief that I am of the Shadowed Saints is unfounded."**

"And who are you to think that me or anyone here who agrees with me believes you?" Feran spat, not caring anymore for the rules Darko announced at the beginning of the meeting. "Well, Fenrir?"

" **It is true that no one here knows of my origins, what I do off-duty, or where my chambers are here in the Halls, save for my Lord and Lady Arceus. The reason as to why is in my past, and what is has made me into."** The Manticore snorted and sat on his haunches, gesturing for the Fenrir to go on. Alpha looked around, seeing that no one planned to interrupt him. His gaze lingered on Aurora for a moment, and she suddenly had the thought that what he was going to say is something that stays in the Hall of Origins.

So he was going to tell them of their past? Aurora couldn't lie, she was actually hoping that he wouldn't suddenly change his mind about it. She just hoped he would be fine after speaking about it, because for some reason, she had the feeling that it wasn't particularly happy.

…

 _ **With Jeanne...**_

The Arceus silently sucked in a breath, she had hoped that it wouldn't come to this the moment Feran went on about Ryker's reclusiveness. And now, as she stared worriedly at the Fenrir, the one she had been supporting for all these years, the one she considered her child (and not like how she considered everyone in the world her children), she wondered if the Fenrir was actually willing to follow through with his explanation.

But then again, he wasn't one to back down.

" **I originate from the continent of Moonfyre, it is about a Latios' or Latias' few day's flight from the regions. You may have read about it in the ancient readings in the Ruins of Alph, or you may not have."** The Fenrir glanced at the two Arceus, and Jeanne somewhat nodded in agreement as they were indeed some readings about Moonfyre. " **I lived there since birth and had to leave when I was but a youngling barely able to breathe fire."**

"And why did you have to leave?" Feran asked almost instantly, suspecting.

" **If you would let me finish, you would know by now."** Several snickers were heard in the chamber, and Feran scowled. " **I left, as far as I know since I do not remember much of that day, to escape the land my family was murdered."** The silence was deafening at this point. " **I do not remember the details, as I asked Lady Arceus to keep them repressed the day she found me, heavily injured and with a concussion due to me crash landing."**

Jeanne nodded slowly, remembering with sadness the day she found him. She relived the memory almost all the time when she wasn't focused on her duties. She glanced at Darko who was also solemn, and though he wasn't actually there when it happened, she could feel that he felt the exact same way.

" **I asked her to keep them repressed because I had believed I would not be able to handle having the knowledge of what happened at the time, and whether or not I can now, I do not know. In any case, that day left me as the last of the Fenrir with the murder of my family. Their death was at the hands of humans, and it happened because of irrational fear and in a way, betrayal."** Jeanne watched Ryker subtly catch himself from snorting. " **I believe, from what I can tell from the fragmented remains of my memories of my family before it happened, that they were well-liked. They were trusted, relied on at times, and at the same time, my family trusted and relied on them the same. But, upon learning who we actually were,** _ **what**_ **we actually were, the humans quickly turned on the spot and threw away all the good, all the trust they had for my family, just because we were not human. You see, pokemon and powered-Originals do not exist in Moonfyre, just your average human and animals and perhaps, the occasional supernatural such as a witch or vampire. The humans there hunted down anything that wasn't of their species, anything that could, if provoked, end their lives and in my case, nearly left my species extinct because we were at the top of the hon-human hierarchy there, without giving a chance for them to prove that they can be non-hostile, that they can coexist.**

 **And so, when Lady Arceus took me in that day, even now, I find that those all around who you think are friends, not just humans, may turn around and stab you in the back for whatever reason. Perhaps for coin, fame, or just because they secretly do not like you. I find it easier to go about life without friends or lovers, I would be less likely to be betrayed like how my family was betrayed and their trust thrown away all those years ago. It is why I keep to myself in these Halls, it is why I keep myself out of your perception most of the time, ultimately, why no one knows much about me. I keep everyone at a distance."**

Jeanne watched their reactions. Some were appalled, some were expressing sadness or pity, some were even glaring at Feran. As for herself, she was proud that Ryker was able to go through this entire conversation without faltering or stopping halfway, he was a strong one.

" **Those I do keep dear are few in numbers."** Ryker continued. " **One is sitting among all of you."** He gestured to the Legendaries, Jeanne smiling inwardly as she saw Aurora smile at recognizing that Ryker had meant the Akirari herself. " **Two are of the Knights in training who were attempted to be killed recently. And another two are standing high above us, working their hardest to keep the world in order, to keep us Legendaries in line and doing what we are meant to do, to strive for peace, even though lasting peace is not very feasible."** Most of the Legendaries, as well as some of the Darkstalkers, looked to Darko and Jeanne. Jeanne smiled brightly at this, making sure to send Ryker a warm mental envelopment. The Fenrir only bowed his head once, and subtly, at her and Darko. Jeanne noted Darko smiling as well, and he even chuckled at the statement about lasting peace. " **I took an oath the day I was taken into these Halls. I am to be forever loyal under both Lord and Lady Arceus and to carry out their will no matter the circumstance unless they deem the situation to be dire enough for me not to, or to improvise to their best interests, or if they betray me which I doubt will ever happen. My life is literally on the line and bound to this oath, and I have no reason to break it. Neither have I done anything you accused me of."**

The Fenrir went silent to allow it all to sink in, and once again, bowed his head to Jeanne and Darko to signal that he was finished speaking. Jeanne smiled widely, as did Darko, and the two looked around to see that the Legendaries present, and even those of the Darkstalkers (much to their chagrin), seemed to believe Ryker. Jeanne sighed with relief, she was glad that she wouldn't be losing her son in figure to the corrupted, to be possibly tortured along with being imprisoned for who knew how long.

"...You make a good argument, Fenrir." Feran eventually conceded, though still scowling.

" **I do not care much about status, though if I find it tolerable to address you formally with honorifics, you should at least do the same with me."** Ryker replied. Feran narrowed his eyes and nodded.

" _Lord_ Fenrir, then."

" **Also, I would like for you to refrain from being unreasonable or making groundless accusations against me, or anyone you find yourself believing to be criminal and should be imprisoned. It is unbecoming of you, childish even."** At this, _many_ Legendaries snickered quietly, including the two Arceus, despite the fact that the Fenrir seemed to be genuinely serious and in a way, helping the Manticore. Feran almost growled right then and there, and Jeanne almost wished he could somehow sully his reputation further.

That was pretty childish of her, but she didn't really care at the moment. Besides, she was the goddess of all. She could act out sometimes.

"I apologize for my... _groundless_ accusation." Feran drawled at "groundless", as if he still fully believed that Ryker would turn on them all. If the Fenrir noticed the hidden undertone, which Jeanne was _damn sure_ that he did, he didn't show it in any way.

" **I accept your apology."** Ryker bowed his head a little in respect, walking back towards his podium as the Legendaries all around looked at him with a new light. Jeanne returned her attention to the Manticore, who was barely restraining his anger from being expressed. Smiling, though trying her best to hide it, Jeanne made the signal-simply banging her hoof on her podium-for the meeting to continue where it had left off, before Feran accused Ryker of being part of the Shadowed Saints.

The rest of the meeting flew by, without another dramatic scene from the Manticore. Jeanne, for the most part, didn't have much to say for the rest of the meeting. Darko handled most of the talking with Feran, and when the Manticore finally dropped the point of attacking the Shadowed Saints, took his Darkstalkers, and left, that was when the rest of the Council added more of their own input. It was the usual, assignments and such to different regions and the like. There were a few problems regarding some of the regions' respective crime syndicates, and their interference with the Legendaries, though that was to be expected.

Team Rocket had been dealt with some time ago, their leader had perished due to some...inexplicable burn causes, deemed as spontaneous combustion. That was all the authorities could surmise from the corpse, Ry-...uh, _whatever_ was the cause of his death was thorough and left absolutely no evidence.

Team Aqua and Magma were currently laying low, as reported by Lord Rayquaza as well as Lords Groudon and Kyogre. Ever since the whole incident with the meteor threat (of which, Lord Rayquaza took care of through Mega Evolution), the two teams went quiet. There were no reports of any crime relating to them, yet, and the Hoenn region was relatively peaceful.

Team Galactic was getting rather bold as of late, according to Lord Dialga and Lady Palkia (Lord Giratina didn't care much for the region, she tended to remain in the Distortion World). There had been public attacks, open recruitment, kidnappings of officials, things of that nature. Jeanne had instructed the two Legendaries to send their Agents (Knights assigned to respective Legendaries of the regions) after the syndicate and keep things under control before the situation got too out of hand.

Team Plasma was more or less scattered, their ranks fell apart after the capture of their main admin, Ghetsis, and the disappearance of their leader, N. Now, their members were only hired mercenaries and those who weren't were jailed, turned over a new leaf, or went and joined one of the other syndicates. In the end, there wasn't much said about Team Plasma.

Team Flare...They were like a one-trick pony. After their failed attempt at activating the "ultimate weapon" and capturing both Ladies Xernias and Yveltal, the members were too discouraged from going on as part of the team and like Team Plasma, scattered or lay down their arms. Their former admins were jailed, one was actually shot down in an attempt to escape with a hostage, and in the end, no innocent lives were taken.

And then there was Team Skull...They were catching quite a bit of attention recently. Before recently, they were never heard of. Not one person knew about them. Next thing everyone knew, Team Skull was taking over all of the news. Fortunately, Lord Solgaleo and Lady Lunalaa were already hunkering down on the problem before the team rose to the level of how Team Rocket had been, or bold like Team Galactic. Still though, this was a relatively new syndicate. Maybe there wasn't much to be worried about.

 _Now that we've covered all that needs to be discussed so far, is there anything else that needs to be brought to light?_ her mate asked. Darko received no answer except for many shaking heads.

 _If that is the case,_ Jeanne said, _you are all dismissed. Thank you for attending and giving your input and keep fulfilling your duty._ As she and Darko stepped down and the other Legendaries either filed out or left via portals, Aurora and Ryker stayed behind and waited for everyone to leave. The two Arceus met up with them and Jeanne immediately concerned herself with Ryker. _Are you alright, Lord Fenrir?_ she asked. She only wished they were all in her and Darko's chambers. At least there, she could drop the formality and actually sound like a caring parent to her child.

 _I am just fine, Milady. It was only tiring having to recall and recount my past while at the same time, keeping myself calm and collected in front of Feran and the rest of the Council._ Jeanne almost smirked when she noticed that he dropped the honorific when it came to Feran, she supposed he really didn't care about the Manticore and only kept up the facade for show in the meeting.

She then noted Aurora nudging Ryker with a wing in concern. The Fenrir glanced at the Akirari, nodding lightly and reassuringly, before returning his gaze to the two Arceus. _You know, Lord Fenrir, my offer still stands. I can restore your repressed memories…_

 _That will not be necessary._

...But why?

 _I do not need them, they will probably only hold me back and keep me from focusing on matters at hand._ the Fenrir added. He then, almost too casually for what they had just talked about, raised an eyeridge. _Is there anything else you need to ask me, or something either of you need me to do?_ Darko slowly shook his head and Jeanne simply sighed.

 _No,_ Jeanne replied as Ryker nodded, _you may return to your duties._ Bowing his head with his standard parting words, the Fenrir turned around and dissipated out of view in a cloud of dark matter. Watching the spot Ryker had been previously standing on, Aurora frowned as she regarded the two Arceus.

 _...Can you-_ Aurora paused, as if she was changing her mind, but then continued with some reluctance. _Can you tell more about him?_ At this, they knew that when she said "more", she meant "more in depth" as the Fenrir had only skimmed over the details earlier.

Jeanne and Darko looked at each other, nodding as Jeanne floated closer to Aurora with a stern expression. _We can, but what we are about to tell you must remain between the three of us. You are not to tell anyone else, not even Roxanne or Hugh. You are not to bring it up to Lord Fenrir as well, for he might've seem fine with talking about it earlier, but he most certainly wasn't._ Jeanne's expression remained stern as Aurora nodded, the Arceus inwardly sighing as she began to recount the day when she took in the Fenrir…

 _..._

 _Several years earlier…_

 _Jeanne yawned, incredibly weary that afternoon. It was at times such at this when she so very wished that she was anything but an Arceus, that she was born a species much simpler like a Lotad. Oh, how she wished she could just simply sit down and do absolutely nothing but zone out in her own little fantasy world. She'd even go for being a Mew! Just...not as…"childish" as the current Mew of the Council. But alas, it was how things are for her. She was the goddess of all pokemon, and her mate was the god. Their dispositions came with being exhausted oftentimes, along with overseeing all operations and such as well as keeping an eye on the Legendaries and the people of the world._

 _Oh well, at least she had a small window to relax. Darko was currently working with double the effort in order to give her some time to herself. Smiling, Jeanne made sure to make it up to her mate later, but for now, she was to relax and take in the view of the amazing scenery before her. She was floating, invisible, atop a hill overlooking the sea. While she could see everything back in the Hall of Origins, it was never as breathtaking as it would be seeing firsthand. And of course, she could actually take in the smell of the sea and feel the cool of the breeze._

 _Knowing that she had only about twenty minutes to relax before she had to go back, Jeanne made sure no one was around and made sure that the haze was already applied (So that anyone looking her way wouldn't see as an Arceus, but some other pokemon native to the area. The same went with any satellites.) before settling down on the hill on her belly. The view of the setting sun, glimmering orangish sea, and perfectly drifting clouds (they were positioned symmetrically, Jeanne couldn't help but to admire that) was enough for her to sigh aloud with content._

 _All was calm._

 _And then, it happened. It was nothing but a little black speck at first, but as it came closer, Jeanne noticed it to be an unidentifiable black blur. It was falling across the sea, eventually crashing several miles out from her position on a small island. Curious, Jeanne rose from her spot and made her way over to the crash sight._

 _ **I wonder...What could it be? Something interesting, I hope.**_ _To be honest, she was slightly bored as well. As much as she wanted relaxation, she wanted to be entertained in SOME way. Maybe it was a meteor, or perhaps, extraterrestrials! The closest thing to the latter was Lord Deoxys, and he'd been around for about a decade now. Really, Jeanne had seen it all. So she supposed that it wouldn't be that surprising if whatever she was headed for turned out to be something mundane._

 _But nothing could prepare for her what she came to find when she reached the island._

 _Breathing raggedly in a crater was a child. His hair was disheveled, an arm and leg were bent at awkward angles, and there was a healthy amount bleeding cuts and scrapes on his body. His eyes were closed, Jeanne noted the subtle paths of dried tears on his dirtied...as well as bloodied, face. At her presence, which surprised Jeanne greatly as the haze was still active and no one should be able to even sense her, the boy slowly cracked open an eye and regarded her blankly._

 _ **It's bloodshot.**_ _Jeanne noted to herself as she took in the details of his open eye. Along with it being bloodshot, she found that it had a white iris. It wasn't even a silver or gray color. Deactivating the haze as it proved useless against the child anyway, Jeanne did her best to express a smile despite the fact that her mouth was covered by a guard._ _ **My child,**_ _she said as she began to heal his injuries,_ _ **how did you come to be here?**_ _As she asked him this, she barely caught what looked like a small black tail recede into the boy's backside before disappearing into his body entirely._

 _While she tried to process what she'd just saw, as she was certain he was no pokemon (she could recognize a pokemon upon seeing them) and since she was absolutely sure that she indeed see a tail recede into his body, he wasn't human either. Another small detail she noted was his canines, they were quite sharp and long to be those of a human._

 _Not receiving an answer to her question, Jeanne went on._ _ **Tell me, does it all still hurt?**_ _She retreated back a step, seeing no visible injuries on the child. He didn't respond, simply blinking his eye once at her. Thinking that he was possibly mute, Jeanne decided to answer that question for herself. She eyed him with a raised eyeridge as she began to lift him psychically, and when he didn't give any resistance, she turned his body over to see if she'd missed any injuries._

 _And it turned out that she did, he had a bad head wound-possibly from crash landing. As she began to heal it, she was almost startled when the child spoke to her. "Who...are...you?"_

 _ **I am Arceus, goddess of all pokemon and humans.**_ _Jeanne answered._ _ **And who are you, my child?**_

" _...I..am.." The child suddenly winced, weakly clutching his head. "...My name...is..Ryker…" Jeanne smiled._

 _ **Well, Ryker, don't you worry. The pain will go away soon.**_ _Ryker nodded slowly. He then widened his eyes a bit, his expression haunted._

" _Family...gone..I think." he whispered. Jeanne frowned, realizing that the injury to his head could possibly be hampering his memory. Surely, one would be able to recall whether or not their family was gone, if "gone" was the "gone" she was thinking of._

 _ **You think?**_ _Jeanne asked. Ryker immediately nodded, and his expression went blank again._

" _Don't want to...Don't want to remember how...they died...Just..I want to be alone…"_

 _ **Now that won't do.**_ _Jeanne said warmly. She wasn't going to argue with him with his apparent memory loss of what exactly led to his family's death and restore it, that was his decision despite the fact that he was a child. But, being alone would surely cause him spiral down further into the depths._ _ **Why don't you come with me then?**_ _Jeanne ended up asking. Ryker blinked at her again, not responding._ _ **You can live with me for a while until you're ready to go out on your own. I can take care of you, provide you with a home, and make sure you are safe.**_

 _She could see that he was unsure, so she decided to simply dip her head and lightly made contact with the top of his head. She could see the effect instantly, as the boy's pale skin retained some color and his cheeks were flushed with warmth. His expression remained impassive though, but she could see the wonder in his eyes. It was like he was studying her, to see if she was sincere._

 _ **So, my child, will you come with me? If not, I can always return you to your home.**_ _At her suggestion, she saw his expression darken and almost cursed herself for lacking some tact. But, surprisingly, Ryker reached out and lightly grasped onto one of her forelegs. Smiling warmly once more, Jeanne opened a portal to the Hall of Origins._

…

 _ **You may sleep here.**_ _Jeanne indicated a bed fit for his size which was on the other side of her chambers. Ryker was still standing in the center of the the room, scanning the area with tired eyes._ _ **Come, sit.**_ _Jeanne watched him walk over and sit on the bed she'd given him, looking up at her obediently._ _ **Now, can you tell me about who you are?**_

 _His expression contorted into a frown for a split-second, it impressed Jeanne when he quickly hid it under another cover of impassiveness. "My name is Ryker." he answered._

 _ **Oh, he's going to be a fun one to talk with.**_ _Jeanne chuckled, finding amusement in how he technically did answer her question without giving her the information she was actually going for._ _ **No, my child. I suppose I should say, WHAT are you?**_ _He seemed to realize that she wasn't as oblivious as he had thought her out to be and in the next few seconds, Jeanne's eyes went wide with surprise._

 _In one moment, a human boy sat on the bed. In the next, there was a young black wolf-like creature sitting on its haunches. And Jeanne knew what he was too, but she never thought there would be a day where one of his species would come over to the regions for her to see herself._

 _Darko would soon come into the chamber only to flip out at the sight of the young Fenrir sitting on the bed._

…

 _But wait._ Aurora said as Jeanne finished her retelling. Jeanne raised an eyeridge, she was sure that she covered just about everything about that day. She'd even recounted how Ryker, still a young teenager at that time, used to sneak out of her chambers at night only for Darko to track him down (after spending a few hours checking every dark corner and shadow, of course) and bring him back in to sleep instead of wandering the Halls alone. _Which of Ryker's memories specifically are repressed?_

 _You shouldn't reveal that you know his actual name,_ Darko said gravely, _he would probably instantly be suspicious of you...or worse._ W-W-...What?

 _W-W-...Darko, why would you let her hear that?_ Jeanne thought to herself, shaking her head and sneaking a light psychic smack to the back of her mate's head. Darko pitched forward a bit, looking at her wide-eyed as if saying, "What did I do?"

 _Or wor-?_ Aurora began to question.

 _His memories._ Jeanne cut in, Aurora pausing immediately to listen. _He seems to only remember the fact that his family is gone, murdered by the people of his former home._ Jeanne then wondered if she should tell Aurora the next part, though after a short moment of contemplating, to which Aurora only stared attentively, Jeanne decided that it wouldn't do much harm. _He doesn't remember the actual details, so he doesn't know how they were killed. He also doesn't remember the fact that after his family's death, he...broke and wiped out the entire village._

Aurora's eyes went wide, shock practically smacked onto her face. The Akirari shook her head, blinking her eyes as if she thought that she had zoned out at a point. Jeanne's expression remained grim, she had expected such a reaction. _Wait, what? But Ryker...He was only a kid back then, wasn't he?_

 _A young Fenrir with the power equivalent of that of a newly evolved Salamence and with the rage rivaling that of a sleep-deprived Gyarados._ Aurora winced. _He didn't realize what he was doing until everything around him was either in several pieces, gored, or mere ashes. As of now, he doesn't remember any of that._ Jeanne then sighed and glanced at Darko, actually seeing her mate resemble Ryker for he was currently lost in thought. The male Arceus's eyes were glazed over, staring at seemingly nothing. _And there's one last thing he doesn't remember._

Aurora blinked, tilting her head at an angle. _What is it?_ Jeanne sighed again, wondering how things would turn out from there.

 _He doesn't remember anyone he met there, but they're all perished. Almost none of them were close to him._

 _So what's the problem?...Other than the fact that they're dead, I mean._

 _Among them, who's actually not dead, was Roxanne Sylva. And Ryker has no recollection of her, except for the memories he's made with her since the first day of their Knight's training._

Jeanne waited for a reaction. She expected Aurora to yell in shock, maybe even laugh thinking that she had spoken in jest. Jeanne thought that she'd have a hard time believing it herself if she was in Aurora's shoes...paws.

But she had never seen a pair of eyes threatening _so much_ to pop out of their skulls-Wait...No, no Aurora was the first. That traitor didn't count, he was a Sableye and his eyes had been technically gems so...And plus, Lord Mewtwo psychically _squeezed,_ not popped the eyes directly, the Sableye, enough to the point where the gems popped out.

Bah, no point to muddle over it.

 _...Roxanne and Ryker...They're actually childhood friends?_ Aurora asked.

 _Not to their knowledge._ Jeanne said sadly. _Roxanne only knew Ryker as a human boy, she has no idea that the Fenrir training her and the boy she knew back then are one and the same. Ryker and his family kept their identities secret from her, and the rest of the village, but even now, after all that happened there, she doesn't have a clue as to what decimated the village and what the boy, now man, was. Is._

 _This..This is too much..._ Aurora nearly dropped to her stomach, looking at Jeanne with an expression of much sadness. _How are we supposed to tell them?_

 _We DON'T tell them._ It was Darko who spoke this time. His tone brokered no arguments. _Should you tell him, and he's not prepare for it, ALL of his repressed memories would come rushing back to him at once and who knows how he'd react? He could react violently, he could become brain-dead because of the force of it, he could very well turn on all of you while being trapped in the memory of him slaughtering the villagers...and that wouldn't end well for you all._ Darko then shook his head. _And if you tell Roxanne, you might just end up severing their friendship. Think about it, all these years wondering where he's been and then finding out that he's been here all along? Not only that, but he's been keeping his true identity a secret to her as well?_

 _He's right._ Jeanne decided to say, nodding. _You cannot guarantee what can happen. It would only be a miracle if you were to tell them, and everything is still normal and as it is afterwards. We strongly advise against telling them, but should you decide to do so, just hope nothing is ruined_. Jeanne watched as Aurora struggled with herself, trying to figure out what to do. Darko nodded in agreement to his mate's words.

 _Including the bonds you've all made with each other._

* * *

" _ **Stop waking up so early in the morning just to train, nii!"**_

" _And why not? It is not as if I am bothering you or involving you in my regimens."_

" _ **The hell you're not! Don't you know that every time you train with your sword, I can FEEL every swing you make?! Every time it makes contact with a tree or some other shit?! I'd be sleeping and the next thing I know, my entire ghostly body starts sliding everywhere!"**_

" _Ah. No, I did not know...So why are you only telling me this just now?"_

" _ **...I've only just thought of it! That's why!"**_

" _While I do apologize for interrupting your sleep every time I train with my sword, I believe it is partly your fault that you did not think of telling me the first time."_

" _ **...Shut up!"**_

 _*Ryker chuckling*_

" _ **Stop laughing! Meanie!...Sto-ooooop!"**_

" _I apologize, Daina, it is just amusing whenever you are flustered." *sound of Ryker sheathing his sword* "Would you like for me to make it up to you? Another story of my travels, perhaps?"_

" _ **...Maybe."**_

 _*Ryker chuckling* "Let me rinse off first, I do not think it would be suitable for me to be sweating so much as I tell you my stories."_

 _*RUMBLE….drip-drip-drip-drip...*_

" _Ah, a storm."_

" _ **It's raining pretty hard, nii...You know, I've heard from some people back at home that rain is supposedly God's tears...or he's up there taking a piss." *Daina snickering***_

" _When I was but a pup, my mother told me that rainy days are right to be somber."_

" _ **Why's that?"**_

 _*Ryker shrugged* "She said that the humans say that the sky, or God, whatever you would like to believe, is crying, for each tear represents someone who died since the last rainfall."_

 _*RUMBLE RUMBLE...CRACK*_

" _ **What about thunder and lightning then?"**_

" _All tears dropped at the same time as the crash of thunder or crack of lightning represent those who died before they were meant to."_

" _ **...That's really sad, nii. I think I'd rather hear a lie about it than what you'd just told me."**_

" _You asked me, remember?"_

" _ ***sigh* I don't even know why I even bother. You're hopeless, nii."**_

" _I am sorry that I do not meet your standards."_

" _ **...That's not helping your case at all. Are you a robot or something? Sheesh!"**_

" _Robots are not among the living, are they?"_

" _ **Oh, just shut up! Now, you're just acting like that on purpose!"**_

" _Perhaps."_


	10. Chapter 10

**We know, we know. Late again. The quick version? Nyx had an operation done and simultaneously, we lost all the data for the chapter you're seeing right now (and the progress of the next). So! To make up for it, we'll post two chapters for this week and hopefully, they'll be enough to satisfy you all :)**

 **Shoutouts to the following for favoriting/following/reviewing:** _**Pickles of dill and R. Moonstalker!**_

 **Thanks, you two! Really appreciate it :) Anyway, on to the story.**

 **Chapter 10: Tension Rising**

 _ **Somewhere…**_

 _It's great to see that you're still alive!_ the Gengar cackled. _So, where have you been, friend? Haven't seen you for days!_

 _I've been at my nest, our lords thought it would be best for me to rest for all the...punishment I've been through._ the Latios replied. He winced and rubbed his neck where a dark bruise was healing. Actually, there were multiple sore areas on his body, though his neck in particular had been dealt a rather nasty blow and it showed. The Gengar noticed the bruise and grinned wider.

 _Look at that._ The Gengar appraised the bruise with an approving nod. _They sure did a number on you...Hm.._

The Latios clenched his eyes shut and hissed in pain as the Gengar prodded the bruise. _What is WRONG with you?! For Arceus's sake!_ Instantly, his companion's expression darkened. The Latios only sighed, knowing the Gengar's next words.

 _You'd better watch what you say here, they don't take too kindly to you uttering that name in their presences. You'll get another bruise or more if you don't!_ The Latios only snorted, he was honestly tired of the way things ran there.

When he'd first joined, the Shadowed Saints' main goal was to liberate all discriminated followers of the Dark and eliminate said discrimination. He wasn't a follower of the Dark, neither was he even a Dark-type to even attract scorn. People believed that if you were a Dark-type (Ghost, as well, though mostly everyone agreed that they weren't inherently "evil", unless provoked), you were automatically out for everyone's blood. And it was a known fact that most Dark-types were hard to keep in check as they tended to remain outside or isolated from others. They also tended to be more aggressive as well, and this wasn't a stereotype or anything since being in contact with the Dark, or being born with that typing, made one more prone to the negative emotions and habits. The Dark, while it could offer immense power, reached out for the seven sins of one's self. Greed, lust, sloth, envy, wrath, pride, gluttony, and all the negative emotions in between...While some can resist the Dark's ever so subtle siren's song, there were just as many, if not, more, who were enveloped in such emotions. Some, willingly.

With that knowledge, the Latios had hoped that the Shadowed Saints would help relieve those of the Dark from everyone else's disdain. But now, after being in their ranks for a few months now, the Latios wondered if their leaders were really planning to do as they promised-whether or not they really planned to liberate those of the Dark and hopefully make peace between them and the rest of the world.

 _What did you do to earn all this anyway?_

The Latios shook himself free from his thoughts, wearily regarding the Gengar with shrug. _I told them that one of our assassins failed in his job to eliminate his targets. Some Knights in training._

 _So they gave you an ass-whooping._ the Gengar replied, amused.

 _Well,_ the Latios tapped his chin thoughtfully, _they weren't really mad at the fact that he failed. In fact, we've recently figured out that all of the assassins that were sent were foiled in one way or another._ He flew into the hall, ignoring the many pokemon, Originals, and even some humans, as he passed. The Latios made it to the other end of the large mess-hall and exited through large double-doors only to enter a room that was not even a few paces away. Shouts and the activation or explosion of attacks filled the air in this room. It only made sense, for this was where one could spar with others or train their bodies for specific tasks.

 _Then why were they angry?_ The Gengar flew over the Latios's head, avoiding a stray **Fire Blast** as the two made their way to the armory on the other end of the room. Changing into his anthro form, which was something he thought made him look really awkward, the Latios shrugged once more as he walked.

Deciding to keep their conversation private from their fellow S.S. members, the Latios stuck to telepathy. _The one who stopped the Giratina assassin._ he began.

 _What?_ The Gengar shifted into his anthro form as well and when the two finally reached the armory, they began surfing through a selection of practice weapons.

 _The lords have been trying to recruit him for a long time, he's supposedly a Fenrir...whatever that is._ The Latios noticed in his peripherals the Gengar's confused expression, he only shrugged as he picked up a rifle complete with rubber ammunition. _I'm in the dark just as much as you are. I asked around earlier, no one knows what the hell it is._

 _Maybe it's a newly appointed Legendary species, or a new species altogether. I wouldn't be surprised, I remember when I'd first met a Sylveon..._ The Gengar paused, shivering. _I didn't know anyone can be so...fairyish. And cheery. And touchy-feely._

The Latios fought the urge to smirk as he completed his loadout. The rifle, a revolver, and a combat knife was all he figured he would need for his upcoming spar with his companion. The Gengar decided to go with a rifle as well. Well, he went with two and decided to forgo the use of a proper secondary weapon such as a pistol or SMG, complete with a combat knife.

All of the weapons in the armory had been procured through smuggling, the Shadowed Saints had many connections to arms-dealers and the black market. As for how they had the funds to buy said weapons...Well, the Latios would rather not question it. There were many different factors that could explain, not many of them he thought of were legal. Or morally right.

 _Well, what do you think they're going to do about this...Fenrir?_ the Gengar asked, his curiosity almost as high as his need to create some mischief.

 _I don't know much, but I've managed to hear them talk about trying to hold negotiations with the Fenrir. They seemed pretty confident about it too, and they were talking about it for the entire time I was laying on the floor beaten._

 _Interesting and ouch. Kehehe._ The Latios rolled his eyes.

"You ready?" The Gengar nodded with a mischievous smirk as they made to way to an empty combat court, environmental pillars and such rising from the ground as they each settled to their respective sides.

If anyone were to look, they'd probably take in the sight of the entire room with a rather generous grain of salt. The several sparring fields, the constant shooting of guns (with the sound of the rubber bullets ricocheting off of whatever they impacted), and drills..It was all militaristic. There was near perfect coordination and organization, routines were followed almost mechanically. And to top it off, there were even shifts. In one increment, a pair would finish their spar and head to the firing field. In a later shift, the same pair would then run cardio workouts. All pairs or partners would follow this sort of regime.

Why, it looked like they were preparing for a full-out war.

…

 _ **With Hugh, about one year later…**_

"Roxanne!" Hugh exclaimed as a black blade sailed harmlessly over his chin. He let himself fall back, knowing that Alpha could instantly change the direction of his swing and cleave his sword through his torso. The blade was still tracing a deadly path above his chest as Hugh arched backwards, he hoped that he would be able to evade in time. Planting his hands on the ground, Hugh flipped back and successfully avoided Alpha's overhead swing. _Too close!_ "Need support!"

"Can't help you when I'm in a twist myself, Hugh!" was the reply he received. Cursing inwardly, Hugh immediately blocked another swing from the Fenrir with his own weapon, a metal staff.

"I'd go on the offensive if I were you, Hugh." Alpha told him. Hugh, gritting his teeth, increased the pressure of his grip on his staff and a split-second later, his staff grew curved blades at its ends.

"If you want offensive, I'll give you offensive!" Hugh growled. The human's muscles tensed like steel fibers as he shoved the Fenrir back, following it up with a powerful discharge of lightning starting from within himself, down his arm, and out the end of his staff. Not even waiting for his attack to connect, Hugh charged forward as Alpha made to evade the bolt of lightning. Hugh smirked as Alpha barely avoided the bolt and tucked into a roll. Hugh took the opportunity and swung at Alpha as the latter came to a stand. _Got you!_ Hugh thought victoriously as the bladed end of his staff managed to drag a red arc across the Legendary's chest.

Hugh wasn't surprised when Alpha ignored the attack, kicking Hugh's knee. Exhaling sharply, though not letting the pain deter him, Hugh charged his staff with electricity and assaulted Alpha with a flurry of swings.

He didn't let frustration grow as Alpha dodged the staff left and right, ducking and even hopping over a horizontal swing at one point. As he attacked, Hugh spotted Roxanne sending Aurora to the ground and creating a large crater. Her weapon released Aurora's ankle, the extendable blades slinking back to their handle as the chain that linked them retracted and wrapped itself around the hilt. As Aurora quickly got to her feet, Hugh returned his attention to his current opponent and whistled sharply.

Glad that Rift received his signal, Hugh watched as the Alakazam teleported to their position, covered in bruises and cuts though fine otherwise, and sent dozens of psychic bullets at Alpha. "Dance, Alpha, dance!" Hugh so very wanted to exclaim, though he decided to only chuckle as Alpha did his best to fend off the psychic assault.

"Hugh!" Hearing Roxanne's call, Hugh turned around only to catch a frozen Oculus who had been thrown his way from one of the Akirari's attacks, wincing as the ice bit lightly at his skin. "Aurora got him with an **Ice Beam!** " Roxanne cried out in effort as she deflected a ball of Light, Aurora sending one after another in order to wear her down.

"Rift, hold him off for just a little longer!" Hugh smiled gratefully at Rift's nod and with a thought, hardened his hand and struck the ice covering Oculus's upper body. The ice shattered on impact, and Hugh gave Rift a thumbs-up. "I'll switch in, take care of Oculus!" The Alakazam ceased pelting Alpha with psychic bullets and teleported himself, as well as Oculus, to another spot not too far away.

Hugh felt his staff get yanked out of his grip, leaping back some ways as Alpha threw it to the side. The Fenrir's sword dematerialized, and Hugh narrowed his eyes as Alpha brought himself into a melee stance.

Hugh blinked _once._ Only. Once. and the Fenrir was in his face in an instant. Retching up blood as Alpha drove his fist into his abdomen, Hugh felt himself double over only to for his face to become _very_ acquainted with a backhand from the Fenrir.

"Aargh!" He felt his body creak, making him groan in pain, as he was slammed into the ground.

"Are you giving up?" Alpha asked after a moment passed. Hugh was tempted to nod right then and there, for they had been sparring for a couple of hours straight. However, knowing that he could keep going, Hugh groaned as he launched himself back onto his feet, kicking-it send painful tremors along his leg-Alpha in the chin and sending the Fenrir back a long ways.

When Alpha recovered, Hugh felt proud. The Fenrir was covered in numerous bleeding cuts and all, something that Hugh and Roxanne hadn't been able to achieve until recently in their training. He quickly gave himself a once-over, noting that the amount of injuries he had was actually considerably lower compared to the injuries he'd receive back then. Sure, they had not been as intense at the start as they were now, though that was only because the Fenrir and Akirari had long-since decided that the two could take a heavier beating, so it was progress in Hugh's eyes.

"You'd better watch out, Alpha!" Hugh turned to see Roxanne sprinting towards Alpha, throwing a Darkness-coated fist towards the Fenrir.

 _She's forgetting that he's immune to Dark-type attacks._ Hugh thought with a quick sigh before turning around and catching Aurora's foot that was aimed at his head. Smiling confidently, as he knew that he had a type-advantage over her in a way, Hugh sent many electrical shocks up her body.

"N-Not..good enough!" Aurora managed to growl as she blew him back with her wings. Hugh struggled to keep his footing as Aurora regained her composure, nursing her wounds with healing droplets of water. She, too, had many cuts and such. All courtesy of Roxanne…

 _Because she's a heck of a fighter._ Hugh thought as he absently rubbed his arm with a wince. She… "lightly" punched him in the arm for pouring salt instead of sugar into her tea the other day..It was only a joke…

Hugh gritted his teeth as he felt his body being charged with an electrical aura before he shot forward towards the Akirari at an amazing speed, sparks trailing behind him and charring the grass. Aurora simply flipped over him, Hug easily turned around and reinitiated his charge. This time, Aurora covered the ground before her in a layer of ice.

 _Holy-!_ Hugh yelped as he slipped on the path of ice. He sped down the path dangerously on a foot before Aurora slammed an arm across his chest. His head slamming on the ground...again, Hugh groaned as his body slowed to a stop as the ground beneath him wasn't frozen.

Aurora cursed, her arm spasming as electrical currents ran across it. It was also bruising around her forearm. As she tried to shake it off, Hugh slowly got back to his feet. He held his head, wincing and noting to get some painkillers later. "If I walk out of this without a concussion, I'd be really surprised."

"And if I can walk out of this without paralysis, I'd be just as surprised." said the Akirari. "Damn you and your Steel-typing." Hugh watched her smirk with a wince at the soreness of her arm.

"Sucks to punch something as hard as steel, doesn't it?" Hugh chuckled. He had hardened his body before the spar, the blows he had been dealt weren't as painful as they usually were.

The next thing he knew, his mouth was frozen shut. Aurora's smirk grew as Hugh glared at her. Not bothering to deal with the ice covering his mouth, a _zap!_ Sounded as Hugh leapt at her, the distance increased by the little jumpstart. His fist crackled with powerful currents, Hugh let out a fierce cry as he aimed to strike Aurora down a good ol' **Thunder Punch**. Surprised by the sudden attack, Aurora quickly had the layer of ice over the grass melt only to freeze into a dome around her.

Hugh's punch shattered the ice dome, showering ice shards everywhere. Some of the shards managed to leave small cuts on their bodies, one of them left a cut above one of Hugh's eyes and he had to blink the dribbling blood away to clear his vision. He then quickly brought his hands up to defend his face from Aurora's flurry of punches, occasionally creating some distance between them as she attacked with some of her elemental abilities as well. Soon, his clothes were covered in frost, though was charred in some areas due to her Light. Biting his lip, Hugh tried to think up of a strategy to try and gain the upper hand for her knew that Aurora wasn't going to let up anytime soon.

Suddenly, Aurora paused. Confused, Hugh dropped his defenses, seeing her turn around. Walking to her side, Hugh blinked at the scene before him as his ears registered multiple blows of impact. It was repetitive, almost rhythmic. _*bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!*_ and so on.

He and Aurora watched the blur of movement that was Alpha and Roxanne. The Fenrir was constantly shifting his position to block Roxanne's attacks as she relentlessly assaulted him with dozens upon dozens of blows utilizing both her arms and legs. Their limbs were too fast to register for Hugh to follow, though he head every single impact as Alpha blocked Roxanne's attacks. Eventually, Alpha decided to go on the defensive and soon, Roxanne was the one blocking his attacks. However, she had to resort to evasion a few times. She'd even took some hits, as evidenced by her slowly increasing number of grunts of pain.

This continued until Alpha suddenly dropped to the ground, one hand planted on the ground, and had Roxanne slam to the ground with a sweep of his feet. _Ouch._ Hugh thought. Righting himself, the Fenrir prepared to fire a ball of flame at her only for Roxanne to slip through the ground and into his shadow which had been casted over her body from the sun.

Alpha turned around as Roxanne reappeared behind him and met her fist with his own. Hugh winced as he heard their bones pop from within their hands, imagining how painful it would be for him. He then winced once more as Alpha grabbed Roxanne with his free hand and threw her over his head, sending her further out of the clearing and into a tree.

Had the two humans been as they used to be on the first few days of training, Hugh knew for a fact that they probably wouldn't survive that.

But Roxanne did. Spitting some blood to the ground and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Roxanne picked herself out of the tree, taking a second to admire the imprint she left in its trunk, before nodding and facing Alpha with a smirk. Cracking her neck, she crossed her arms and Hugh noted how much she was trying not to grimace at her wounds. "That all you got, Alpha? Alphy has much punch than you do and he has pincers." she taunted good-naturedly, referring to her hermit crab back at the house.

"Is it really a good time for her to taunt him right now?" Hugh deadpanned.

"I think that last hit might've knocked some screws loose." Aurora deadpanned back.

"As much as I'd like to challenge your claim," Alpha chuckled, the front of his bottom lip split and bleeding from Hugh's kick (Hugh inwardly celebrated at that), "time is up for today. It has been a couple of hours already." He then turned to look at the sitting Alakazam, who was currently still healing Oculus's wounds. Hugh noticed Rift nodding and figured that the Fenrir probably told the Alakazam something mentally. "We can all retire to the house now."

"So how did we do?" Hugh asked as Alpha went over to Roxanne and assisted her, the latter swinging her arm over the Fenrir's shoulders. The two walked over, Roxanne with a noticeable limp.

"You two did amazingly well." Aurora said earnestly and proudly. "The two of you just need to work on your team coordination. Perfect it and the upcoming test should be a breeze." At this, both Hugh raised an eyebrow as Roxanne snapped her attention to the Akirari.

 _Right, we're supposed to pass a test at the end of all this training. Then, when...IF we pass it, then we'll be tested again by Arceus by Jeanne before we're full on Knights._ Hugh frowned. _And then...if we become Knights, we'll have to go our separate ways._ He knew that if they became Knights, that meant that they weren't going to be together all the time. Just because they joined together didn't mean that they would be able to continue to stick together. They would be oftentimes sent on different assignments or quests, they'd have to be lucky if they wanted to get assigned to something together.

Looking at Aurora, Hugh began to feel sad. To him, she was like family. Just like his two pokemon partners and Roxanne. She was nurturing and caring, always seeking to help him and Roxanne out when they needed it with whatever it might be. Also, she was a great teacher, along with Alpha. If he was confused about something, Hugh found that her words would always lay whatever it was out in his mind and make it seem quite simple.

Roxanne, he'd miss as well when the time came. Like a sister, she'd always have his back and made sure to pull him out of whatever mess he might walk in...Or, sometimes, lead them in (he winced at the thought of the Spinarak nest). She was also never afraid to speak her mind to him either. If she felt like something was stupid, she'd say it upfront and never beat around the bush. It was then Hugh remembered what Alpha told them on the day they went to the beach. Hugh smiled at the image of Roxanne showing up some beach jock and putting him in his place.

Hugh would miss Alpha too. Despite the Fenrir being incredibly blunt at times, though always being respectful about it somehow, Hugh never found an ill moment with him. Alpha was like that one guy you'd go to for _anything._ Of course, he trusted the others completely as well, but Hugh trusted the Fenrir with the _extremes._ Need help hiding a body of a person you accidentally killed? Go to Alpha, he would take the time to understand what happened and wouldn't tell anyone! Need someone to talk to about girl troubles with (Hugh laughed to himself thinking about this example)? Go to Alpha, spill your concerns, and feel better without feeling embarrassed about it! For some reason, Hugh found complete comfort around the Fenrir, his best friend.

As for his two partners, Hugh knew that they'd be able to accompany him everywhere on his days as a Knight. Where else would they go? Also, Aurora once confirmed it to Hugh that they'd be able to stay by his side and go with him on assignments should the time ever come. Hugh would rather not have it any other way, he, Rift, and Oculus were practically inseparable.

"And when's that?" Roxanne asked, looking between Aurora and Alpha for an answer. Aurora shrugged, causing the two humans to deadpan, and motioned with a hand at Alpha. The Fenrir looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"That would be in a couple of weeks from now. Should you two pass, Lady Arceus will assign you your final test in the form of an assignment." Not saying anything more, Alpha allowed Roxanne to sit down for a moment. Rift appeared next to her, with Rift settling next to Hugh mostly healed. The Alakazam took several minutes healing her before moving on to Hugh, then to Aurora though she told him that she could heal herself.

"Can you tell us what it is?" Alpha looked at Hugh. "I mean, you mentioned it before so I've been wondering what it is."

"Me too." said Roxanne. She stood up and took of her shirt, leaving herself in only a sports bra on her upper body as she wiped her sweat with her shirt. "Can't you tell us?"

"We can't." Aurora was the one to answer this time. "Lady Arceus ordered us not to reveal anything about the assignment, only that you two will be receive the order a week after passing your test." Hugh hid his frown at this, his curiosity piqued even more so.

 _..._

Later at the house, Hugh and Roxanne stood before Alpha with apprehension. The Fenrir stood there, his expression unreadable. Behind him, a wall of many types of weapons were on display. Each type of weapon looked quite standard, such as a bland steel sword with no special features or the staff Hugh used earlier with the hidden blades. "I have evaluated your skill with each weapon the two of you have tried to use over the course of these past couple of months." the Fenrir stated as he turned around to face the wall of weapons, an arm tucked behind his back as he used his free hand to stroke his chin in contemplation. "Hugh, Roxanne,"

" _Roxy_." Roxanne corrected with a smirk, though it went away when she found that the Fenrir remained serious. Hugh only shrugged, the Fenrir was Alpha after all.

"Some of these weapons, you are not cut out for." Alpha continued. He glanced at them over his shoulder, gesturing to the weapons. "Others, you are mildly proficient with. However," Alpha actually allowed a small smile to crease his features. "I know which weapons are best suited for you. Which of you would like to receive it first?"

Roxanne glanced at Hugh, to which he responded with a slight motion of his hand. _Ladies first._ was the message. Nodding, Roxanne stepped forth and Alpha stepped to the side. "Which weapon will I be getting, Alpha?" Hugh wondered if she was going to get a sword, she seemed to be good wielding those. Even the greatswords, and she only needed a hand to grip them when most would need both. Albeit, it was most likely due to her Fighting typing, it most likely gave her enhanced strength among other attributes.

 _Wonder what I'll be getting...Maybe a halberd?..No, too slow in attack speed for my liking and I usually can't balance it. The staff then? I'm pretty good at using that, and charging it with electricity is a useful-._

He paused in his thoughts as Alpha produced gauntlets with the fingers cut off at the first metacarpophalangeal joints **AN: We know, huge word XD. The joints are the first joints after the knuckles of each of your fingers, the halfway point**. They were made of some sort of grayish metal Hugh couldn't make out, though they were definitely weren't of steel. Other than leather wrapping around the wrists of the gauntlets, it didn't stand out much like the rest of the weapons.

"Put them on, Roxanne." Alpha said, somewhat encouragingly. Hugh watched Roxanne do as she was told, flexing her hands after fitting her fingers through their places. When she returned her attention to the Fenrir, Alpha placed his hands on her gauntlets and in the next moment, they _changed._ Hugh blinked. Like, really _changed._

The gauntlets were no longer...normal. First, its surface was raised in some areas in a vein-like pattern, resulting in her gauntlets developing an appearance that resembled a clawed hand (with no superficial details, so it looked like a 3-D clawprint) grasping the back of the gauntlets, colored a gleaming silver against the now black metallic surface. On the knuckles of each gauntlet were deadly thumb-sized spikes that made Hugh involuntarily wince.

He wouldn't want to be caught on the other end of that.

Completing the gauntlets' appearances, each gauntlet extended all the way up her arms, covering them in armor plating. Though, her left shoulder lacked a pauldron unlike her right shoulder of which, had a pauldron that was formed into a spear-tip. If Hugh wanted to be honest, Roxanne was really close to pulling off the Knight look, she just needed the rest of the armor plating.

"Cool." Roxanne smirked, flexing her hands once more. It was then when four of her knuckle spikes found themselves in the ceiling of the room, one of them managed to draw a line of blood on Alpha's face. "...That was an accident." she added as Alpha chuckled. Hugh did so as well, as these "accidents" happened among them all so many times since the beginning.

"Now, Hugh, for your weapon." Hugh only grinned as Alpha handed him...yes, the metal staff. As soon as it was in Hugh's hands, it shone a bright gold color before dimming down to reveal its new features.

Along the shaft were a few different grips, they would allow Hugh to initiate different stances and switch between being offensive and defensive. There were also two barely visible seams, and Hugh knew with a grin that he'd be able to swing around the staff utilizing the chain within and swing the ends of the staff around. Pressing where he knew the hidden button would be, out came sickle-like blades, one on each end of the staff facing opposite directions. Along the edges of the blades were teeth-like ridges, and along with those, the staff was certainly appealing with the glowing gold runic markings along the shaft (which cackled like sparks if one listened closely).

 _Oh crap!_ A little current of electricity jumped from one of the runes and traveled along the metal staff, all the way up to the bladed end closest to Hugh. He absorbed it, sighing inwardly as he felt his energy reserves grow just slightly. Hugh smiled brightly and gave the Fenrir a light punch to the arm in appreciation. "Thanks, Alpha. I'd bet we can seriously wreak havoc with these beauties." A thought suddenly hit him, and Hugh looked thoughtful. "Actually, where did you get all these weapons? Were they provided for us with the training?"

The Fenrir gave a casual gesture to the wall of weapons. "I pillaged them from the corpses of my enemies, I'd like to think that they don't need weapons in the afterlife."

"..."

"..."

"I only jest." Hugh and Roxanne heaved huge breaths of relief at his words. Hugh facepalmed, dragging his hand down his face as he gave the Fenrir a deadpan stare.

"I'm glad you are, but you really need to work on your sense of humor." Alpha scratched the back of one of his ears.

"I suppose I do." Alpha replied as he made to leave the room, the two humans following him out. "And I apologize for that, I thought that it would be amusing since they were actually still alive when I procured the weapons. Lady Arceus thought that it was at least resourceful."

Hugh took one look at his newly procured weapon and went pale as Roxanne let out a string of curses, quietly promising to sanitize her gauntlets when she got the chance. The two could hear the Fenrir ahead chuckling at their plight.

"I really hope that means he's just joking again. I really don't want to use these knowing that they were probably ripped off some guy's arms...maybe taking his arms too, knowing how brutal Alpha can be." Roxanne muttered. Hugh only shuddered at the thought.

That was something that took the both of them quite a while to get used to, the idea of eventually having to kill someone in their occupations as Knights. It actually came as a surprise to Hugh quite recently when he learned that his two partners had already came to terms with it, with Rift's reasoning being that it'd only be for the best in order to protect him and Oculus was for pretty much the same reason. Plus, out there in the real world outside battling other Trainers and all, it was eat or be eaten.

With that happy thought in mind, Hugh took a look at the metal staff, a naginata if he knew his weapons, before concentrating on dismissing it. It dematerialized as he went upstairs to the surface, closing the basement door after Roxanne walked past. In the living room, they managed to catch sight of Aurora stepping out of her portal from the Hall.

"Any word?" Hugh asked as she sighed wearily, laying herself down on the couch with a dramatic wave of her arms towards the ceiling.

"They tried getting some negotiations going with the Shadowed Saints by spreading word among the Council, to get word to whatever spies there might be-by the way, no one has an idea of who they might be-and set up a meeting at the Indigo Plateau for the past couple of nights. No one showed up both times, but there has been another assassination attempt." She pinched the bridge of her nose as Alpha handed her a steaming cup of coffee, the Akirari thanking him with a grateful smile before taking a sip. "They succeeded. He was only 16, and Lady Articuno wasn't there at the time so he didn't have any chance of surviving."

"They're targeting the defenseless now?" Roxanne growled, fists clenched and again, unintentionally sending another volley of spikes into the floor. She didn't pay them any attention, however, though Rift, who had been meditating a short distance away, went to pick them out as the Roxanne's gauntlets replenished themselves of their knuckle spikes. How, Hugh had no idea.

"They sent a message." Aurora continued as she nodded, "a note was left on his body. ' _You could have prevented this, but it's not too late to prevent more. Join us, and aid us in liberating the rest of the discriminated from the Light.'_ was what it said." Aurora shot Alpha a quick glance, though the Fenrir seemed to be mulling over something. Hugh noticed it, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to ask since a glance like that, especially since she did it right after saying what the note said, it implied that somehow, the note was connected to the Fenrir in some way.

"So what's going on now up there? Are they going to make a move now? Because if they don't, I'd bet that they'll follow through with more assassinations." Roxanne said.

"Lord Arceus is trying his best to get some more information about the headquarters of the Shadowed Saints and Lady Arceus is planning some sort of counter to their future attempts, if they decide to try again. The Hall of Origins is also on temporary lockdown, no one but the Elders get to leave until further notice."

"To root out the spies?" Hugh asked. He felt sorry for those there that were actually innocent. It could take a while before the spies get apprehended, and to stay in an area for possibly hours when one can get several things done or go off doing whatever they'd like would be both irritating and boring.

"You guessed it." Aurora set her coffee down. "Luckily, I'm part of the Council, obviously. Otherwise, I'd be stuck there."

Hugh turned, they all did, as Alpha turned to walk away. Before he left though, he turned to his side and gave a short bow to them. "I have just been summoned by Lady Arceus. I will see you all later in the night, if all goes well."

"See you soon, Alpha." Hugh silently wished the Fenrir safe travels as the others told their goodbyes.

"You'd better come back safe." Roxanne added as Aurora nodded her agreement. Whether or not the Fenrir heard her, they didn't know as the last of the Fenrir's feet dissipated into black matter and joined the rest of his body, wherever he was. "I need him to teach me how to do that. Talk about an exit, am I right?"

Rolling his eyes at her, Hugh sank further into the couch. "You'd probably use it to make a dramatic entrance, you attention-craver." Smirking, though that quickly fell, Hugh yelped as Roxanne threw a punch to his arm. Hugh ended up on the floor, clutching his injured arm and sucking in through his teeth in pain. "I was...just...joking."

And from that point on, he would make sure he was at least a meter away from her before joking.

"Why do you think Lady Arceus called Alpha?" Roxanne asked, as if she didn't just pummel Hugh to the ground. Said male tried getting Rift to heal his arm or at least numb the pain, but the Alakazam refused since Hugh did provoke Roxanne.

"But...brother…." Hugh pleaded with his eyes. Rift only shook his head.

 _Perhaps you will learn your lesson this time, master._

"Traitor…" He wanted nothing more than to pass out. Oculus only shook his head at the scene.

"More of the 'wetwork', I think." Aurora answered Roxanne. The latter frowned, conflicted. "Something wrong?" Roxanne bit her lip, sitting on the spot Hugh was on before he hit the floor.

"How…" Roxanne sighed. "Are you used to killing, Aurora?" This gained Hugh's attention, and he momentarily forgot about the pain as he listened in on them.

"Yes." It was such an immediate answer, with little to no hesitation. Hugh balked at her answer, wondering just how anyone would get used to killing...Psychopaths and all excluded, of course. Was she numb to killing? Did she not feel guilt? "It's sad to say it, but I am." She closed her eyes and took a small breath. "I can't tell you or give you any advice on it, how to cope with taking a life whether or not it was out of defense or necessity, but I can tell you one thing." Her eyes became steely. "If you end up _liking_ to kill or having fun..that's something to be wholly concerned about." Her expression became more compassionate. "You'll feel guilt and regret at first, there's no stopping that. Eventually, you'll come to find it more as...an obstacle, if it's either you or them living on in the end of the day. It'll be easier over time…" She didn't say anything further, and leaving them to their thoughts. Hugh figured they shouldn't ask touch the subject any more at that point, also realizing how the temperature in the room dropped just enough to notice.

…

 _ **With Roxanne…**_

She wiped the sweat from her brow, undoing the straps on her gloves (not her gauntlets) and tossing them onto her bed as she reached up to remove the chains from the hook hanging from her ceiling. Holding the sandbag with only a hand, Roxanne rolled it under her bed as it was surprisingly raised enough for the entire sandbag to lay underneath on its side.

Roxanne then took a look at her hands, shaking her head but laughing quietly to herself at the sight of her chapped and bleeding knuckles. "At least the calluses are gone." She knew that they most likely scraped off during her intense workout with the sandbag, they would probably return when the bleeding stops. "Now to shower…"

She later came out of the shower feeling incredibly refreshed and satisfied. She had been keeping to this routine for a while now. She'd train with the others and if she still had the energy to, she'd unleash hell on the sandbag (Aurora took her out to Cianwood City and they managed to buy one at the Gym) for a good half hour or more before finally relaxing for the rest of the day (after ridding herself of stink via shower).

Now in a simple gray tank top and shorts, Roxanne quickly dried her hair with her towel before hanging her towel on the rack in the bathroom wall. " **Huh, and most people would just throw their towels in the laundry after using them just once."**

"I never understood why." Roxanne replied, looking the mirror to find no one but turning around to greet the friendly apparition. Smiling, Roxanne shrugged. "Seems like a waste of usage to me." Daina laughed, deciding to just float lazily on her back around the room while Roxanne seated herself at her desk. Taking out a journal from the drawer, she began recording the highlights of the day's training and made sure to make key notes on certain details such as her rate of recovery for her stamina, making comparisons to the rate from the day prior. She took some time taking these notes, nonchalant as Daina began to hum a tune that seemed to fill the air.

Daina had been appearing recently, for around a few months to be exact. Roxanne had since gotten used to her presence, recognizing her as the apparition from that strange dream-no... _vision_ she had on that one night. Daina had explained just who she was (or used to be?) and such and kept details regarding the vision behind tight lips despite the fact that Roxanne already knew that the vision had to do with Alpha. Every time Roxanne asked about certain details from the vision, such as the "chains and shackles" or the "collar" that was binding Alpha, Daina would either pretend she didn't here or just ignore her outright. Sometimes, she'd allow a little illumination on a detail, like how Roxanne managed to break through Alpha's "cage" and become closer to the Fenrir. As it was, Roxanne didn't know how she felt about it all. She didn't know what exactly she felt for the Fenrir, whether or not it was a great bond of friendship or something closer like being family. She was confused as to what could possibly erect so many trials when it came to Alpha, but was determined to heal him.

Daina usually only appeared when Roxanne was in her room, and occasionally when Roxanne was alone in the kitchen with no one in the living room. She had an agreement with Daina to keep the spirit as secret from the others, and in return, Daina would provide little tidbits of information about Alpha. Nothing personal about him, of course, but things such as his hobbies or dislikes. It wasn't really a _fair_ agreement, though Roxanne figured that telling the others about Daina wouldn't really make much of a difference anyway.

Daina told her once that she saw the Fenrir as a brother, or "Nii", as she called him. Now with that information, Roxanne instantly caught on that the two were very close. Then again, it raised some questions. Why hadn't Alpha told them about her yet, was one of many that brewed her mind. But, Roxanne hoped that with more time spent with Daina or the Fenrir, those questions would gradually be answered.

Daina also revealed that it was due to her that Roxanne's senses were enhanced some. As for why, the spirit's reason was simply just because. Either way, Roxanne was thankful and knew that it would help significantly in her life. Already, she'd found her daily activities being much more interesting and easier than usual. For example, her enhanced hearing allowed her to detect movement during her spars against the others when her eyes couldn't help her. On the subject of her eyes, they helped her immensely with focusing in on faraway details and such as well as seeing more things in the dark. Her sense of smell was strong enough to make out differences in scents, and her sense her taste... She found herself eyeing a passing squirrel with hungry several times, the thought of _cooking_ it never once crossed her mind in those instances. And finally, it seemed that she'd gained some sort of animalistic instinct. They took over her thoughts at critical moments and when she listened to them, they actually helped more often than not in many situations.

Daina joked at one point that Roxanne was becoming more like Alpha, that she was practically becoming a wolf...and Roxanne, for some reason, didn't find herself being objecting to the idea of leaving her humanity behind.

" **Look at that."** Daina teased, prodding one of Roxanne's arms. " **No more flab, just muscle here."**

"It's hard not to be fit in our situation." Roxanne smirked with a shake of her head.

" **Be careful though."** Daina jokingly flexed her arms and posed several times. " **You don't want them to get too huge. Got to keep our womanly charms, you know?"** Rolling her eyes, amused, Roxanne set her journal down and tossed her pen into the trash can. It ran dry. " **Anyway, my nii's almost back here."**

"How do you know?"

" **I'm bound to his sword, remember?"** Daina looked thoughtful. " **I'm actually risking a bit wandering this far from it, the seal might weaken and I'd have to 'sleep' to recharge it if I don't want it to break."**

"So go back to the sword or at least get closer to it then." Roxanne replied with a frown, concerned. Daina waved a dismissive hand.

" **Did you not hear me? He's almost back."**

"Did he leave to do 'wetwork'?" Roxanne asked, curious and honestly not afraid of whatever answer she might receive. Daina shook her head.

" **Nope."** Daina picked at Roxanne's hair though scowling when her fingers manipulated nothing as they were only able to phase through everything but not touch. " **It was only a talk with Jeanne and he went for a quick run afterwards."** Daina snorted. **"Train, run, eat, run some more, sleep. Rinse and repeat. And if it's not that, it's train,** _ **think for a good hour for some reason,**_ **then run, eat, and run or think some more. You'd think he's obsessed with that routine."**

"It's Alpha." Roxanne shrugged, sighing. Many, many times, she'd try to get the fenrir to open up more and be more outgoing with the group. But, seeing as the most she got out of him was when they went on the seashell hunt, and the night he allowed her to sleep against him not too long before, there wasn't much success in that regard. "He's a lone wolf...Stop smiling, I didn't mean that play on words." Daina dropped her _"No duh, really?"_ expression.

 **"At least you two are as close as you are."** Daina smiled as she clasped her hands before her chest. **"It's so heartening to see my grumpy nii get along so well with someone, with all of you!"** Daina hummed for a moment. Her humming turned to full-blown singing, Roxanne smiling as she listened. They didn't have to worry about anyone hearing, only Roxanne could hear and see Daina at the moment. After a few minutes, Daina looked at the floor towards where Roxanne knew the front door of the house was. **"He's here, we'll talk later!"** With that, Daina faded out of view and Roxanne got up to leave her room.

Walking downstairs, Roxanne greeted Alpha at the doorway with a smile. "Didn't you leave in different clothes?" she asked, seeing him in a short sleeved shirt and trackpants and pretending she didn't know the Fenrir went on a run earlier as Daina said.

"I decided to run several kilometers." the Fenrir replied with a small smile.

"Have some water then." Roxanne headed towards the kitchen and Alpha followed her without a word. She filled a cup with water before handing it to him. "So what did Lady Arceus call you for?"

"She wanted to know if I have anything scheduled for tomorrow other than the usual." Alpha thanked her as he drank some water.

 _Okay, now let's see if you'll elaborate._ "For what? Anything serious?" Alpha regarded her for a moment, expression neutral. If she didn't know any better, he looked like he was bored with the way his eyes were half-lidded with seemingly lacking glows of life.

"Curious, are we?"

 _... Damn! He's onto me!_ "I was just asking, Alpha." Roxanne did her best to pull off a casual shrug, she followed it up with a yawn and made it sound as legitimate as possible since she was not at all that tired. "Wow, someone's being guarded." _That someone's Alpha, but still._

The Fenrir eyed her blankly for a moment before chuckling, closing his eyes as he took another sip of water. Exhaling quietly appreciatively for the refreshment, Alpha sat down on one of the chairs and Roxanne sat across from him, noting that she'd have to water the flowers that rested in a vase on the glass table. "Forgive me, your question just struck me as odd since you all know that she usually calls me for an assignment or for a report." The Fenrir tapped his claws against his knee absently. "Lady Arceus was wondering if I could possibly help her with some dealings with the Shadowed Saints."

"Dealings?"

"We are still trying to establish a meeting with them." Roxanne frowned when his eyes narrowed, though not at her but outside through the window. "However, the plan is to have the meeting with just the two of us."

"That's too risky." The words left her mouth immediately, Roxanne didn't have to think much about his last statement to know that meeting the Shadowed Saints, an elusive enemy who were responsible for the current panic at the Hall of Origins, with just the two of them wasn't smart. Despite the two being powerful, there was no telling what could go down if the meeting was to take place. The S.S. could decide to bring all in their ranks knowing that it was just Alpha and Jeanne for one. "Strength in numbers" was the saying. And that was only one possible situation out of many that could take place and endanger the two.

"We know. But, the fact that it would just be Lady Arceus and I may just be enough to convince them to meet us and it may be one of the _only_ ways. Should they accept, we planned for Lord Arceus to scry the entire meeting and make an appearance if things decide to go south. Also, I've gained permission to use complete lethal force if they intend to be hostile."

For some reason, hearing that the Fenrir was allowed to use lethal force, the fact that he had to gain permission to do so, Roxanne had to suppress the involuntary shiver that threatened to wrack her body. She thought about the ordeal involving the Giratina assassin that Alpha killed. She winced at the image of the Void eating away at the serpent's scales, flesh, and all. Alpha didn't have permission to kill him that time, did he?

 _He probably didn't need it since our lives were in danger and the Giratina attacked us first anyway._ "So how do you intend to get word to them?"

It took Alpha a few moments to answer. He was hesitating to tell her, she knew. "I can covertly gather information from anyone's minds, dark thoughts specifically. Tomorrow, I will be at the Hall of Origins and root out the spies. I won't give myself away, but I'll plant the idea regarding the meeting into their minds and it'll be enough for them to go back to their base of operations and inform their leaders."

A lightbulb when off in Roxanne's mind. "Why don't you reveal the spies at the Hall of Origins now and lift the lockdown?" Alpha shook his head.

"That would mean everyone there would know of my ability to freely look into their minds without struggle or alerting them of my presence. Think about it, Roxy," Roxanne relaxed more at his use of her nickname, "If they were to find out I can do so, imagine the outrage and disorder it would cause. They would not take kindly to that. What's to stop me from invading their privacy and learn of their secrets? And I can't just do exactly as you suggested and lift the lockdown immediately after, someone would certainly figure out that their minds had been invaded in order to find the spies. It would cause distrust, suspicions among allies, and of course, chaos and fury towards the two leaders responsible for it being done. Lord and Lady Arceus would have a revolt in their hands."

Roxanne frowned but understood his reasoning, it truly wouldn't do any good to go through with her idea. _So they'd have to find the spies, and still keep everyone under lockdown until they can figure something out or the spies eventually give up and reveal themselves. But, how long would that take? How long would it be until everyone who's on our side are allowed to finally leave to return to their duties? Or go home to their families?_

"I see you understand the complications that would occur either way." Roxanne found that she couldn't answer, she was stuck and couldn't come up with anything that would suit the situation best. "Do not fret, Roxy." At the softness of his tone, she looked to see him smiling at her. "Everything will sort itself out sometime. We'll find a way to resolve this by tomorrow, I assure you."

Suddenly having more faith in the situation, Roxanne nodded with a renewed smile. "You're right, I shouldn't. You always find a way, Alpha, we can all rely on you if push comes to shove." The Fenrir chuckled, something Roxanne found she liked more and more with every time the sound reached her ears.

"I only do what needs to be done, and I prefer to be efficient about it even though my ways may not be seen as favorable by some." Alpha sniffed the air for a quick moment. "May I ask, where is Aurora and the others?"

"They went to Azalea for groceries and stuff." Roxanne took a sniff of the flowers in front of her, wrinkling her nose at their smell. It was too strong, so she decided to pluck one of the flowers and smell it on its own. _I love roses._ She thought roses were the perfect type of flowers. She thought they represented women well. Women can resort to being thorny if they wanted to, but they can be as pleasant as they wanted to be. And the smell wasn't too effeminate either, but it was still lovely and had the sense of being enticing without much effort.

Suddenly, the rose was plucked from her hands and she felt it being tucked in on her head under her hair above her left ear. She felt her face flush as she stared at Alpha in barely veiled shock. The Fenrir leaned back into his chair, looking at her before nodding as if satisfied. "The rose suits you, and the purple goes well with the gray in your eyes."

 _*beat-beat-beat-beat*_

She felt her heart hammer in her chest as she swallowed her surprise and found her voice. "T-Thanks, Alpha." She found that she could smile without much trouble despite the situation. "Wait, why don't I feel any pricks to my head?"

Alpha answered her by holding out his hands. Roxanne almost gasped at the number of thorns he'd removed without her realizing. "I barely applied pressure." He sounded amused. Roxanne figured he must've slid his claw(s) along the stem as he placed it in her hair.

Gathering courage, and smirking, Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "Smooth move, Alpha. You'd impress a good amount of women with that, I'd bet."

To her surprise (though slight disappointment), he didn't appear to be flustered. Instead, the Fenrir good-naturedly chuckled once more and shook his head. Roxanne, in turn, laughed along with him, feeling as if they had not one single worry to be concerned over in that current moment in time. She would cherish this moment, along with a few others in the past involving him and the others, for as long as she could.


	11. Chapter 11

**I wonder how the quote on the bottom will get you guys thinking...Nyx thought it'd be funny to let it hang at the end of the chapter.**

 **-And I do, mates….He...Hehe...Mua MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!...Enjoy the reads, beautiful buggers.**

 **Chapter 11: Heads or Tails?**

 _ **With Ryker...**_

" _ **I have a bad feeling about this, nii."**_ Ryker stood there, arms crossed behind his back. Next to him, Jeanne was on her belly, waiting patiently like him. They were at Indigo Plateau, it would be a couple of hours until dawn. They wouldn't be bothered by anyone soon, so the meeting should go interrupted if all goes well.

 _It is alright to feel anxious, Daina._ Ryker did yet another scan of the area, his head on a continuous swivel as was his ears which canted this way and that. Every now and then, his nose would flare as he took in the scents. _I assure you, nothing will go wrong._

" _ **How can you be so sure? Anything can happen, you know that!"**_

 _Of course. There are multitudes of possible outcomes, all of them have a fair likelihood to occur. However, I believe they will cooperate without any trouble for either of us._

" _ **Really, nii?"**_

 _It is in their best interest to._ He didn't say anything further, despite knowing the fact that it only left Daina with another unanswered question.

 _Have you detected any of them yet, Lord Fenrir?_ Ryker shook his head, he paused in his scanning to look at the Arceus.

"I have not, Lady Arceus."

 _I have not sensed anything either._ Ryker and Jeanne frowned at Darko's statement. He was back at the Hall of Origins, scrying the entire area with a bird's eye view. He would instantly be there should anything go wrong, Ryker knew, which was another reason why the Fenrir felt that the two of them, meaning himself and Jeanne, would be just fine.

 _Maybe they're opting to continue biding their time until the right moment._ Jeanne stated, looking at Ryker for his opinion.

"I am sure they will arrive. They would not ignore this opportunity to state their demands, and I am here as well so they will most likely try and see if they can recruit me as well." Nodding, Jeanne allowed a quick smile to crease her features.

 _And I am glad we won't have to worry about that, because I have your loyalty._

"Of course, Milady." Ryker gave a half-bow, though respectful nonetheless.

 _Lord Fenrir,_ Darko decided to say as Ryker and Jeanne returned to keeping watch for the Shadowed Saints, _you should assume your natural form. As you are now, they may not take you seriously due to your stature._

Nodding, knowing that Darko could see him doing so, Ryker took a moment to shift into his true form. When he was on all fours, he decided to sit on his haunches and unfurled his slightly tattered wings to stretch them. Ryker noticed Jeanne glance at them, eyeing the tears with concern.

" _ **She's worried for you, nii."**_ Daina observed through his eyes.

 _They are fine, Lady Arceus._ Jeanne didn't seem reassured. _I fly just as fine as I would if they were completely healed with little effort. There is no need to be concerned._

 _I don't know why you keep them in their current state._ the Arceus replied with a shake of her head.

" _ **She's right, why don't you just heal them? Surely, you can?"**_

 _I keep them that way to remind myself of what I am leaving behind._ Ryker told Daina. _Even though I want to keep those certain memories of mine repressed, I do not want to continue on forgetting who I am now compared to the naive weakling I was years ago._

" _ **...Would strong people turn away from their memories and run from their past, nii?"**_

The question caught him off guard. Of all things for her to say, he certainly didn't expect that. For some reason, he found that he couldn't answer. Was it because she was right and this entire time, he was just as weak as he was back when he was just a pup? Was it because he refused to acknowledge how _true_ the statement was? It couldn't just be because of the fact that Daina, his dear little sister who was usually as sweet as pure sugar, decided to say something rather biting. Thinking of this reminded Ryker of the night he talked to her near Cianwood. He thought that she was growing rather bold lately…

" _ **Oh-I'm so-...Nii, I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean for...Nii..."**_ She was sincere, and Ryker had to stop himself from sighing out loud to avoid drawing looks from Jeanne and Darko.

 _Think nothing of it, Daina._ he eventually replied. He suddenly felt tired, drained almost. He didn't think he words would affect him that much. Ryker suppressed the urge to shake his head. This wasn't him. He shouldn't be so concerned about it. Emotions like anxiety and the like usually passed right through him, he'd ignore them in an instant and stay stoic like a wall of stone. _Blood and darkness._ he cursed to himself, temporarily shutting Daina out of his head so as to not worry her. Ryker felt himself beginning to succumb to his darker thoughts of doubt and the like, suddenly questioning everything and wondering why was he even going out of his way to help Jeanne with issues she and Darko could immediately solve if only they'd just come to a decision and finally take ac-.

...No. He wouldn't let such thoughts overcome him just because of a flaw in his reasonings that Daina so accurately pointed out just moments ago. Ryker shoved the dark thoughts that threatened to take him over to the very back of his mind and locking them in a mental vault. All of it, his own selfish desires that would have him anywhere but there helping the two Arceus, his dreams such as the one of finding refuge from everyone in the world to simply fall in a slumber until he felt like the world was devoid of everything he hated (as naive and childish as it was), his doubts of everyone he knew...All stored under metaphorical lock and key with chains and seals for reinforcement.

But then...It was there. That one spark...The thought of _what if._ It remained there, stuck in his mind like a serrated knife deep in flesh. What if he gave in to that temptation? To just give not a single _damn_ about anything and everything in the world. The thought nagged ever so subtly at him, somehow finding a connection to things like the promise of liberation of all beings of the dark that the Shadowed Saints were offering (though Ryker knew that such a thing was just falsities spewed just to attract more followers, manpower to raid the Hall of Origins).

What if he could just be himself without being limited to the expectations of everyone else? Why _should_ he be afraid of whatever memories he was keeping repressed, afraid of how others might react to the dark, _true_ Ryker that resided deep within. Ryker knew, under the calm facade he was putting up, under all his formal and respectful tendencies and such, that he just wanted to set the entire world on _fire_ and blot out the sun. He secretly wanted blood, revenge at the thought of his family's murd-no, _slaughter_. He wanted to find all dark sources in the world and take the power for himself, to further advance his own dark abilities as well as his mastery over Void. He wanted to be the _voidwalker_ , returning everything to Nothing. To utterly destroy _completely_ and thus, allowing the opportunity for new life to grow in the world. And if they didn't turn out right either, he'd do it _again and again_. To purge if necessary, with no restraints or need of consent. To do as he saw fit. After all, everyone wanted something for their own gain, why couldn't he?

 _NO!_ Reaching up to clutch his head with a paw and wincing, ignoring the look of concern Jeanne threw his way, Ryker lowered himself slightly to the ground. _I WON'T let such thoughts take control and mold me into something so...disgusting! Revolting! Horrible, terrifying, menacing, malevolent, EVIL!..._ He paused in his thoughts. _Though, whether or not it is actually evil depends on how you are looking at it. Perspective._ Chuckling dryly inwardly to himself, for the logical side of him never failed to surface no matter what the situation, Ryker sighed and tried to ignore his growing fatigue and stood back up to full height.

 _-rir…._ What-...Who? _-ord Fen-!_

His pulse pounded in his ears and every little noise echoed so very loudly. Ryker shook his head to try and clear it all away.

 _RYKER!_

" _ **NII!"**_

Jeanne...Daina...Ryker wearily turned to give Jeanne a raised eyeridge, though hid what he truly felt like under a mask of calm like he usually did. _Yes, Lady Arceus?_ As his senses focused, he registered that Daina had somehow slipped through the cracks of his previously guarded mind even though he specifically meant for her to not be able to. _I hear you, Daina, no need to yell now._

 _Ryker, are you unwell?_ Ryker noted with a hidden, tired smile the almost motherly tone of concern in her words. Of course, whenever the two of them were relaxed, she'd use it almost regularly.

 _I am fine, it was just a sudden migraine. I was just unprepared for it._ And he wasn't lying either. His earlier thoughts left an ice pick stabbing into his head and Daina's current tirade, full of worry and anger at the same time for being shut out (Ryker was trying his best not to wince at her echoing yelling) did not help at all.

 _Are you sure? I've never seen you in a state like this._ Jeanne got up and inspected him closer, searching his expression to see if she could find discern what it was. Ryker, however, chuckled and rested on his haunches.

 _Of course, Milady. Like I said, I was just simply unprepared for it. I have not had a migraine as bad as this one since the day we tried calming down Lady Mew from her caffeine-induced craze through the Halls of Origin._ He intentionally ended his statement in a light joke, hoping to throw off the Arceus from his current ailment.

Fortunately, it worked, as Jeanne ended up chuckling as she returned to laying on her belly. _Yes, that day was indeed a pain to deal with despite it being a little humorous._

 _If you'd like, you can take a moment to rest, Lord Fenrir._ It was Darko talking to him this time, Ryker figured that the male Arceus must had seen him stumble through the scrying orb back at the Halls of Origin.

 _That is not necessary, I am not hindered to the point where I cannot perform my duty._ Ryker replied, earning a nod from Jeanne and a grunt of approval from Darko. _Alright, Daina, I apologize for that._ Ryker thought to the soul bound to his sword after a few more moments.

" _ **Don't just shut me out without a word like that next time! How do you think I felt when I called you dozens of times only to find out I can't reach you?! Don't do that again, nii, or I swear-!"**_

 _And, again, I am deeply sorry, Daina. It will not happen again. Like I told Jeanne, it was just a sudden migraine but I am recovering as we speak. I will make sure to prepare for it next time, if that makes you feel better._

" _ **...So it's not about what I said, nii?"**_

Hm. Ryker quickly thought of a response to work around the question. _Of course not, Daina. Did I not tell you to think nothing of it? It was just a sudden migraine, is all._ Well, that wasn't a lie either and it wasn't _just_ about what she had said earlier that caused the growing pain in his head. Not specifically.

Hearing a sigh of relief from her, Ryker waited patiently for her response. " _ **...Contractions, nii."**_

 _Ah, of course. Thank you for reminding me._ He felt Daina facepalm in his mind and shook his head.

Movement.

Ryker took barely a split-second to react and instantly directed his attention to the building up ahead, narrowing his eyes at the space above the roof. _Lord Arceus, Lady Arceus, we have company._

 _So we do._ Darko replied. _Remember the plan, you two. And Lord Fenrir, remember that you are authorized to use lethal force as necessary at any point during the negotiations._

 _And do not be afraid to be aggressive to them if they decide to be pushy in their demands either, Lord Fenrir._ Jeanne added as she rose to her hooves, Ryker rising to his full height as well.

 _Acknowledged._

" _ **Be careful, nii. I'll be your lookout so you don't have to work to be as alert as you usually are."**_ Daina chimed in.

Thanking her, Ryker calmly watched a few portals open above League facility of Kanto Indigo Plateau. Several figures stepped out, most were a Legendary species. There were seven in total; a wizened Lugia with the usual blue of its species' being a purple or sorts, a scowling Zapdos whose feathers were more of a dark yellow than the usual golden yellow, a "shiny" Yveltal (who seemed to be the leader of the group, his portal had emerged in the center of all of them and he emanated a sense of self-proclaimed superiority), a powerful Giratina (who immediately glared at Ryker), a smirking Kyurem (he was the only one of his species, actually), a snarling Zoroark, and a notably powerful Tyranitar. Each of the had the S.S. sigil emblazoned somewhere on their bodies, though unlike the sigil Ryker had seen on the Giratina, these ones were exuding a fiery purple aura.

The Yveltal looked at each of his colleagues, grinning, before flying down to the field before Ryker and Jeanne. The former studied the Kalos native (Yveltal originated from there), already noting the numerous weak points presented to them. _Base of wings are significantly more weak than the standard avian structure for his species, the extra appendages on his tail are extremely sensitive, his legs are actually small so his movements are limited in regards to agility though his wings make up for it…_

As he studied the others, the Yveltal bowed exaggeratedly to Jeanne. _Lady Arceus..._ He dragged on the "S" in her name like a snake of a cartoon. _Might we change into our disguises before starting off the...negotiations?_

Ryker saw no friendliness in Jeanne's smile. _Of course, it would be smart to play it safe. You'd never know when some random individual decides to take an early morning walk and take a route that runs through here._

Several flashes later had them all in human forms. The Yveltal was a tall but lanky man, with light purple hair and surprisingly bright aquamarine eyes. His smile sinister on his face, which was eerily resembling that someone in their late teens, and some red-and-white markings covered areas of his body like tattoos. He was donned in a suit, his tie perfectly centered and tightened. The Yveltal tugged on his lapels with a smirk. "I figured this attire would be perfectly suited for this meeting."

" _ **...That pun.."**_ Daina drawled to Ryker. Said Fenrir didn't pay much attention to the rest of the S.S. leaders, though he kept an eye on the Giratina and Zoroark for the former was still glaring at though held himself back as if he was waiting for an opportune moment to attack while the dark fox pokemon-in-human form kept flexing her clawed fingers and eyeing them with scorn.

"I agree, it seems we shared the same thoughts about the matter." Jeanne replied to the Yveltal. She was wearing a white blazer and matching pants, a yellow shirt underneath and emerald-studded jewelry adorning her arms. "Now then," she waved a hand and a large table appeared with seven chairs on one side as opposed to the two chairs on the other, "may we start?"

The leader of the S.S. sat down, turning his head to smile pointedly at Ryker shining white teeth. "And you are joining us, correct?"

 _I am participating, yes._ Ryker replied, calm but his tone cold. He caught Jeanne's train of thought as he answered, she thought that with the way he was currently behaving made it as if nothing had happened earlier with his sudden migraine and all. _Though, I would rather stay as I am now rather than changing into my human disguise._

"Hm. Could it be that you do not trust us? That being in your human disguise would limit your abilities to some extent?" The Yveltal cackled quietly to himself. Ryker simply deferred to Jeanne who gestured for him to sit. With Darko's agreement as well,-as reluctant as the male Arceus was-Ryker took a step forward.

 _If only to allow everyone here to be at ease then._ Ryker replied, his form being silhouetted with black and shrinking to a size of six feet and a couple of inches. He sat down in his chair as the cover of darkness faded away, revealing his features to them all.

" _ **You know, nii, this is the first time I've seen you this way."**_

 _That is because the last time I changed into this human form was as a pup several years ago, hiding from the humans. It has been long since I looked upon myself as such._ Ryker discreetly examined himself for a brief moment, finding that along with his body having grown to adulthood, his current form was just as fit as his anthropomorphic self. Muscular, though not overwhelmingly so, and lean with definition. His black hair was shorter than he had expected it to be save for the hair on the back of his head, neatly spiked and actually long enough to rise about a few inches around the front-top of his head. Ryker also had a light chin spike of hair, along with spiked sideburns that pointed down and meeting his light stubble.

" _ **I can't believe I'm seeing you. as a human. with facial hair. with a mustache...which is nicely trimmed, by the way."**_ Daina remarked.

 _I don't understand why you're so surprised by my facial hair specifically._ Ryker replied as he gave a nod to the Yveltal. _Every day except for now, my entire body is covered with fur._

"Ah, and another joins us in our properness." the Yveltal stated, indicated Ryker's attire which was his usual dark gray collared shirt with a black tie with matching pants, his black jacket currently off.

"This is what I usually wear, I do not wear other forms of clothing often when I'm not in my true form." Ryker said as he extended a hand towards the S.S. leader. "As you know, I am Lord Fenrir and I am of the Council."

"You know I'm an Yveltal, but I go by Marston." Marston accepted Ryker's offer and the two shook hands before the Yveltal gestured to his group. "They are my cohorts." More introductions went underway, and soon, they were all ready for what may last as short as firecracker fuse, or as long as the entire day.

The negotiations was finally starting.

…

It was midday, and Ryker had to admit, he was starting to grow weary of the passive-aggressiveness that was being thrown back and forth between the sides.

He had been staying quiet for most of the meeting so far, only adding input if there was a statement or question directed to him. To his slight surprise, they had not brought up recruiting him into the Shadowed Saints yet. Aside from that, it was going relatively well (as in, neither side seemed intent on attacking each other...for the moment anyway) though no terms were agreed yet. At one point, Marston proposed alliance between the two parties through the downfall of Feran the Manticore and his prison of the countless wrongly accused. However, Jeanne couldn't bring herself to agree with such terms since Feran and his army of Darkstalkers were very formidable in their own right. Attacking them or declaring war would be too costly and many more lives than necessary would be lost.

Well, Jeanne was almost considering the proposal at first. But fortunately, Ryker caught the implications with the terms. He privately told her that not only that heavy losses would ensure on their side, but that would leave little resistance against the attempts that the Shadowed Saints would _definitely_ make to take over since they would _not_ be participating in the conflict should Jeanne agree with that proposal. Both Arceus were grateful that Ryker caught that, though they were both shocked that such a crucial detail flitted through their minds without detection.

They had decided not to call Marston out on that proposal, though they made sure to carefully read his words in between the lines.

"How about you help us, discreetly I might add, recruit as many as possible for our goal and when numbers become sufficient, we'll take down that Manticore and end the discrimination for those who work with the Dark." Marston asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. He'd figure out how you're getting the extra hands in a faster rate and accuse us, he wouldn't hesitate to raid the Hall of Origins with his forces. The two of us are on neutral grounds, and he's already testing his boundaries. Making him an enemy would not be favorable."

Marston broke his seemingly optimistic attitude and sighed with frustration, Ryker watched him grab rake his fingers through his hair then throw his hand out at them with irritation. Ryker almost summoned his sword to lop off the hand, as the movement had been done haphazardly despite the Yveltal knowing that one wrong move could end the meeting and turn it into a bloody skirmish. "How are we going to work this out then?" His words lacked the carefree tone that he had held since the start of the meeting, now more harsh and mature. His eyes seemed to dim, as brightly colored as they were. "You want us to cease our attacks on you, we want the end of Feran and his Darkstalkers, but you're not willing to throw in your part so how? Will there be an alliance between us by the end of the day?"

"What you're asking comes with too many risks, I've said this a few times already." Jeanne retorted. "In the end, it is. too. costly. Even if, and note that I said " _if_ " because our numbers are nothing impressive compared to his, we manage to succeed, it would take time for our side to recover. Legendaries wouldn't be able to perform their assigned duties in the world; natural disasters, an imbalance between Light and Dark (she looked at him pointedly at this), deserters and rogue Knights running rampant... Where would we be in those times in need? Resting. Recovering. And those who aren't would struggle handling all those duties on their own, for covering the entire world is a mountainous task compared to only overseeing a region."

Marston was quiet at her answer, his hands clasped as he brought his arms up on the table. The Yveltal was losing patience though it was clear that he saw why Jeanne couldn't do a thing with his proposal.

Ryker momentarily paused in his alert vigil and focused his attention on Marston, who was staring at the Fenrir. "And what is your opinion in this, Lord Fenrir? You seem like a close associate to her, her advisor maybe, so I'd like to hear your thoughts."

"I agree with Lady Arceus, her hands are tied and there won't be much gained aside from freeing the innocents from Feran's prison and as much as we'd like for them to be freed, we can't make a move as we are now. We'd have to strengthen our numbers to increase our chances of victory." Ryker noticed Jeanne summon goblets of wine for each person at the table. Watching Marston drink one, as did Jeanne, Ryker decided to follow suit and took a sip.

"We are lacking Knights," Ryker continued, "for one, and your assassination attempts aren't helping the matter." Marston chuckled, despite himself. "We are low in Legendaries as well, we all know that each Legendary species aren't plentiful in number. A good fraction of them are in your ranks, others are in Feran's army, while the Hall of Origins has just about two or three per species, included whatever families they may have." Another sip from the wine. "It would take too long to simply turn to reproduction as a solution with my last point, Legendaries can only reproduce once every three years. There are few pure-hearted (Ryker almost stumbled with those words) humans in the world, and not all of them may choose to be a Knight when the offer becomes available."

"What about the Originals? They can become Legendaries and Knights as well, like yourself."

"The Originals are fairly recent in the system." Ryker answered. "Many don't trust the Legendaries despite everything, so when the offer to become a Knight presents itself, most would turn it down and continue living on their lives doing whatever they wish. Those that do join immediately back away after several years of service, when they get an offer to become a Legendary. They'd have to follow the same rules set upon the Legendaries, and the Hall of Origins itself would change their reproduction systems so that they, too, would have to wait every few years for the males to cease being sterile and for the females' ovaries or eggs to start becoming fertile. The Originals have their own goals in increasing their numbers, becoming a Knight or Legendary would set them back. So far, myself and two others are Original Legendaries, though we are not enough." He thought of the two. _Even with Aurora and Shikarou, powerful as they are, would not be enough._

"Why don't _you_ help _us_ then?" Ah, so Marston was finally touching the matter. "Lord Fenrir, we as a whole of the Shadowed Saints would think that it would be entirely beneficial for us..." Ryker caught him on that, knowing that Marston meant "us" to be just him and the Shadowed Saints despite the Yveltal seemed to be implying he and the Shadowed Saints would work together with Jeanne and the Hall of Origins. "if you joined our numbers. Seeing as as part of our ranks, our men would be encouraged beyond belief knowing that the lone Fenrir, the one even _Feran_ cannot hope to arrest anytime soon, is in the Shadowed Saints and aiding them in their cause. You'd also help provide the necessary firepower it would take to take him down, and free the wrongly accused and ending taking the first step to ending the discrimination."

"While your reason seems sound on the surface," Ryker stated, seeing in his peripherals Jeanne calmly sipping from her wine when he also felt Darko watching this specifically quite intently, "I cannot help but feel that I would simply be used as a tool. All you've said, save for the things said about Feran, can be accomplished from the position I am in now. Those of the Dark can still look up to me, as you say, from both your Shadowed Saints, the Hall of Origins, _and_ perhaps those who haven't given up to the corruption in Feran's ranks. Seeing me in the Shadowed Saints would only further feed their misconceptions of those of the Dark being nothing but foul to the world."

"Why don't you just make this much simpler for us?!" Ryker prepared himself for a possible fight as Marston slammed his fists on the table, standing up and prompting the other leaders of the Shadowed Saints to shoot to their feet as well. Marston broke out in an eerie grin, leaning across the table and only leaving a couple of inches between himself and the Fenrir. Jeanne looked about ready to take action, though Ryker sent her a subtle motion with a hand that it wasn't necessary. "Let me throw this out there, no more beating around the bush!" Marston chuckled, Ryker heard Daina mutter a few words regarding how "super fucking creepy"-he had to briefly lecture her about her harsh adjective-it sounded while the almost maniacal smile made it all the worse. " _You_! Only you!"

" _ **Can prevent wildfires."**_ Daina cackled, apparently not being able to help herself. Ryker inwardly sighed at her.

"I-..We just. need. you." Marston gestured to Jeanne. "What she's currently providing for you is nothing. NOTHING. Compared to what _I_ would be willing to offer!" The Yveltal, to their surprise, jumped onto the table and dropped to a squat before Ryker. "Use your brain and be smart about this! Think about what we'd be able to accomplish! The things we'd able to rectify and improve! You _want_ to ally with us, I _know_ you do! You can't possibly be just sitting there thinking that the way you and those of the Hall of Origins are going about it would do so much as make a step forward to the right direction! Freeing everyone Feran imprisoned, the innocents! Ending the discrimination! Putting _balance_ to the world and let the forces of Darkness grow, while believers of the Light-" Marston indicated Jeanne again. "-tell everyone that it's _just fine!_ " At this point, he seemed to be delirious. Even a few of the other leaders were eyeing him in concern. "Fine that while there's supposed to be equilibrium and order, it's right to oppress us of the Dark while keeping their numbers large, recruiting more and more believers of the Light and multiplying ex-ponential-ly!All because they're _afraid_ , of the Dark, of you and I. Irrational, isn't it?! Who's who in this obviously imbalance?! Who's truly _good_ and who's truly _evil_ , Lord Fenrir? Or are you blind to it as well?"

For a while, Ryker didn't respond. He simply stared into Marston's darkened eyes, not giving anything away in his expression. Jeanne stood up from her seat, walking over to Ryker and, hesitantly, rested a hand on his shoulder whilst glaring with a fire in her eyes at Marston.

"Again, your reasons are sound." Ryker began, standing up as well. He looked and nodded at Jeanne who dropped her hand from his shoulder. "It is true that the Dark is being oppressed by the Light, that they are overwhelming in number compared to us. There is an imbalance, and it is irrational, to be afraid of the Dark-" Ryker briefly paused. "-so to speak. But there are a few things I'd like to point out, and one thing I do not believe you understand."

Marston scowled. "And? What is it then?" His companions began growing restless, giving hostile expressions at Ryker and Jeanne. Undeterred, Ryker went on.

"You say that you would be able to offer me more. However, I do not need nor do I care for it. Lady Arceus has given me a home in the Hall of Origins, took me in and raised me as her own for some years. I wouldn't be able to repay her, especially if I abandon my position and join you not only for the reasons you stated, but to completely take over in the aftermath which I'm absolutely sure is your real intention." Marston scowled. "It will take some time, but the end to the discrimination and oppression will come." Ryker narrowed his eyes. "You, all of you, should know this. Or perhaps, it's all of you who are blinded." Those of the Shadowed Saints began to voice their thoughts, calling Ryker and Jeanne out with several different slurs and the like. Ignoring their taunts, Ryker continued. "For while the Light is overbearing, and will always come to rise when the Dark is at its weakest, the Dark will forever remain stalking it. In the shadows, from the radiance the Light is casting."

"BULLSHIT!" Marston roared. "DID YOU NOT LISTEN TO A WORD I'VE SAID ABOUT THEM?! THEY'RE THE EVIL ONES HERE!" Ryker growled, the action sounding a bit toned down in his human form, also finding the Yveltal's yelling irritating and worsening the pain in his head.

"I've never implied that the Dark is the true evil, and I didn't imply the Light is either. Good and evil are two sides of the same coin, an idea of mere perspective." Ryker looked at Jeanne with a short bow of the head. "Lady Arceus, it seems that this meeting is void."

"Fine then! Then consider yourself forever an enemy of the Shadowed Saints because there's no turning back now!" Marston snarled.

Jeanne stepped back as Ryker had to roll onto his back in order to dodge when the Zoroark leader of the Shadowed Saints soared over the table, reverting from her human form back to her true appearance, with claws outstretched with the intention to tear out Ryker's vulnerable throat. When the Zoroark was directly above the human-disguised Fenrir, Ryker launched himself up with his arms and in the same motion, kicked the fox of illusions and sending her crashing into Marston (who had been standing on the table still) and earning several curses from the Yveltal.

 _I shall come to your assistance!_ Darko told Jeanne and Ryker.

 _That isn't necessary._ Ryker had gauged the enemies' power through their unrestrained aura at the beginning of the meeting (which was foolish, to him, since that would allow your opponent beforehand..especially if you don't plan to attack immediately) and surmised that only the Giratina and Marston were the major threats, possibly the Lugia as well. The other four though were significantly weaker and he knew that they would be able to be taken care of easily, despite who they were. There was also Kyurem, though he didn't seem hostile at all. In fact, he seemed content to sit back and watch the scene unfold.

Jeanne summoned a golden regal sword of which, had an enormously long blade. "I shall pass Judgement upon thee…" she declared to the leaders of the Shadowed Saints. "This could've been avoided, had you sought for a peaceful resolution."

Marston, having already shoved the Zoroark off of him, shifted back into his true form and as an Yveltal, fired a purple-red beam at Jeanne. The Arceus held her sword horizontally, blocking the continuous beam and taking steps forward to the flying enemy.

Ryker weaved this way and that, not even letting the Lugia gain ground even when assaulting the Fenrir with amazingly quick but powerful jabs. Finding an opening, as the Lugia withdrew an arm while taking a brief moment to recover his breath, Ryker grasped the Lugia by the shoulder and also clasped his hand around the retreating fist. The former applied pressure towards the arm's middle, soon snapping it at the elbow. As the Lugia sank to his knees, closing his eyes in agony as Ryker released the broken arm, he was quickly sent headfirst to the ground from a vicious downward kick from the Fenrir.

Hearing the Zoroark snarl behind him, Ryker ducked as the S.S. leader's claws passed over where his head had been. Ryker did a sweep with a leg, causing the Zoroark to fall forward only to meet Ryker's hand at the throat. Choking, the Zoroark could only meet Ryker's cold stare with wide eyes as the Fenrir tightened his grip, crushing the lupine's trachea. And as the Zoroark futilely gasped for air, Ryker decided to put the Dark-type out of her misery and after summoning his sword and barely twitching his wrist, he sent the Zoroark's head rolling from her body.

"Ameryn!" Facing the furious Zapdos, who was flying and sparking violently and sending shocks from his feathers, Ryker bent his knees as the back of his collared shirt tore. Black tattered wings grew and unfurled from his back as Ryker launched from the ground, then took flight.

He was prepared to hurl flaming orbs at the Zapdos and follow it up with a Void-covered punch to the sneaking Giratina underneath him who had been staying out of the conflict until that point, but didn't do either as a snarling Yveltal flew in front of him. A large gash bled on his side, the wound faintly sizzling with a golden glow around the edges. _**Retreat for now! Today's not the day, get back to base!**_ Reluctantly agreeing, the other S.S. leaders disappeared from the area via their portals and left just the three of them alone, with Marston hovering in place just before Ryker with narrowed eyes. _**You will regret this, Fenrir, you will regret it dearly. All of your loved ones, everyone you care about, the innocents you have associated yourself with...**_ The Yveltal left the threat hang for a moment before smiling, also smiling at Jeanne who was standing on the ground with Marston's blood staining her clothes. _**Pleasure doing business..**_ He turned to Ryker. _**..with the both of you..Farewell, oh Lord Fenrir…**_ With a mocking bow, the Yveltal left the area through a portal. Ryker and Jeanne waited for a few more moments before finally relaxing, Ryker descending to the ground before deciding to burn the Zoroark leader's corpse.

…

" **I told you something was going to go wrong!"** Daina exclaimed as she shimmered into view. " **You're lucky for making it out of it without a scratch!"**

"Whatever do you mean, Daina?" Ryker asked with a slight smile. He was back in his anthro form, and he was currently headed back to the house. After going over everything he needed to with Jeanne, the Arceus allowed him to return to his assigned duties while she went back to the Hall of Origins to discuss some things with Darko and some members of the Council. "It went as we thought it did, we knew that there wasn't a chance of the Shadowed Saints allying with us."

" **What the hell do you mean?"** Ryker was amused at her exasperation. On the other hand, he inwardly berated himself for not letting her in the loop of things before the meeting initiated. " **You mean to tell me that the meeting was meant to be a freaking failure?"**

"Well," Ryker replied as he stepped out of the dark corridors, through the portal, to step onto the clearing before the house. "We did not intend on having it end with the death of one of their leaders, though that's just one less enemy we'd have to deal with."

" **So what's this plan you've been neglecting to tell me about?"**

"All will be revealed in time, Daina." Ryker said, apologetic in his reply. "I had to make an oath not to speak of the details until certain events happen and only until then, I will be able to tell you...And yes, the loopholes were covered as well so I cannot even tell you what it is _mentally_ or the like."

She didn't say anything to his statement and figuring she was mad with him, Ryker only sighed as he clutched his head once more. Again, he felt as if someone sent a burning lance into his head. Within, he felt his inner darkness strain against its chains and roar for release but with some effort, he managed to stifle it. Sighing again, he felt weight settle upon his shoulders as he walked towards the house with heavy feet.

The moment he stepped in, a door opened from upstairs and a very concerned Roxanne walked down to envelop him in a strong hug. "You ok?" she asked quietly, not even waiting for an answer and taking a step back to inspect him for injuries.

Shaking off the foreign (he still wasn't used to it, even after a year) feeling she had just given him, Ryker hugged her back with an arm with a low chuckle. He noted that she was still in her nightclothes that she wore to sleep the night prior, drawing the conclusion that she probably woke up just moments earlier after hearing him walk in the house.

He actually found that strange. Ryker had been noticing her reacting with seemingly sudden heightening in senses in more than a few instances. It could be due to the training, but even their training wouldn't affect her senses so drastically. Or perhaps, it was a boon from Jeanne as Roxanne and Hugh were nearing Knighthood? The flaw in that though was the fact that Hugh wasn't showing the symptoms Roxanne had been, so maybe it was due to her typing.

It made more sense to him with that idea. As she was dual-typed, Fighting and Dark, the former could possibly be the sole cause for the developments. Ryker had been noting her faster reaction times, an increase of awareness in all ways, and she was possibly more accustomed to seeing in the dark as evidenced by her managing to spot him walking the other night even while the moon was covered. The last symptom was most likely due to her Dark-typing.

There was this one instance where Ryker almost _swore_ he saw her sniffing at the air, as if she was detecting scents. However, Aurora had been cooking at the time so that could the reason. Ryker couldn't shake off the memory though, for she had been sniffing in the _exact_ direction where the food was being made in the kitchen and sniffed in several different points which seemed like she was pinpointing it. From _upstairs_ , he might add.

"I am." he answered her before raising an eyeridge. "You should return to sleep, Roxy." She shook her head, smiling sheepishly.

"No, I'm craving tea right now." She clasped her hands behind her back with a smirk, spinning on a heel to face the kitchen. "Care to have some with me?"

"I'd like some, thank you." As he passed underneath Hugh's room upstairs, his ears twitched and he heard, with amusement, the human's light snoring. As for Aurora, Ryker knew she was still asleep as well. They all knew she wasn't one for waking up really early, except for the days when training came first thing in the morning.

"You look tired." Roxanne commented as she prepared some tea leaves.

"Do I?" Ryker looked at the refrigerator as he walked over to it, seeing no bags under his eyes or anything that would give away his weariness. Curious as to how he gave it away, he asked her, "How do you figure?" He opened the refrigerator, procuring a mango from within and grabbing a knife as well as a small plate from the dishwasher.

"Your shoulders are slumping, you're walking sluggishly, and I can see it behind your eyes." was the matter-of-factly answer. She selected a certain few leaves from a sealed container and handed Ryker two mugs after filling them with water. The Fenrir grabbed both mugs and instantly, the two mugs were heated to perfect temperatures. He handed a mug back to her and Roxanne divided the leaves equally for the two of them and crushed each of the leaves into their mugs. "You sound morose too. Are you sure the meeting went okay?"

 _Well, I suppose I can say she's doing well to apply everything we taught her about reading someone, opponent or not._ "The meeting ended as we thought it would." They took their seats in the living room, sitting next to each other on the couch. "I'm just weary, Roxy, but I appreciate your concern." He sipped his tea. "Ah..Chamomile, a good choice." It was known to help calm upset stomachs or help one sleep, having been used for centuries. _If only this can help with my migraine._

"So what's the plan for today?" Ryker tapped his chin in thought.

"Honestly, I do not think you two require much more training. I believe you two are perfectly capable to proceed to the tests we have planned for you." He chuckled at her perplexed look.

"Really? No more training or sparring with each other?" He had expected her to sound quite hopeful with that revelation. But for some reason, he only heard slight _disappointment_ , rather than enthusiasm or relief.

He was proud to have trained her.

"Indeed. But if you'd like to continue sparring, the feel free to do so. But it wouldn't do much towards progression, you two are really close to reaching your plateaus and once you reach that point.." He paused for a few seconds. "The only thing you can do to further your growth is to gain experience or have either Aurora or myself to spar with you and Hugh with no holds barred."

"Wait, that means you two have been holding ba-."

"Aside from that though," Ryker continued, hiding a grin, "you two can do whatever you wish until then." Sporting a beaming smile, Roxanne shifted and leaned her back against his side, letting out a comfortable sigh as she rested her legs over the armrest of the couch. Ryker succeeded in not tensing at the contact and only smiled, as weary as he was, though he found great comfort in the simple action.

Over the past year or so, they had all grown very close and became a tight-knit family of sorts. They confided in each other (excluding Ryker, for obvious reasons), supported each other, all those heartening things that would be in a family. Ryker also managed to be more approachable as well, as Daina had pointed out this one day, and they were comfortable enough to do things such as Hugh throwing an arm over Ryker's shoulder in a friendly gesture (despite their height difference) or Aurora lightly smacking his arm jokingly for whatever reason.

So contact like Roxanne leaning against his side at that moment wasn't something new, even though he was still trying his best to get used to such friendly gestures. He was even beginning to joke with them a lot more (if one counted one or two jokes every once and a while, a lot, as...macabre as they were at times). So all in all, he wouldn't mind being around them for prolonged periods of time. And Ryker was sure that the same could be said for them to him as well.

"Wanna go for a walk tonight?" Roxanne asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked at her and nodded, smiling as he reheated his tea for it had cooled while he was sifting through his thoughts.

"If you're not tired by then, sure." That was another thing. They had been taking nice walks in many different places (they'd pick a random route on the regional map) every so often at night. The habit began this one night when Ryker decided to go for another nightly run, only for Roxanne to step out of the house and requesting to join him. When he told her that she wouldn't be able to keep up with him as he usually ran in his true form, she offered the idea of the two of them going on walks instead whenever they could just for the fun of it since one, she worried for him every time he left the house and two, she was usually bored as the days came to an end. And so, nightly walks was what they settled on.

"You know I won't be, Alpha."

"I only said that since it's still morning, we have all day to see whether or not that changes."

"Then I guess I'll just have to cut down on the work today until then." She reached behind her head and patted his arm. "That goes for you too, no running around or having us spar to death!" They laughed together, Ryker feeling the pain in his head ebb away just a little bit as the two continued to talk the morning away.

…

 _ **With Feran…**_

"My!" The Manticore grinned widely as his spy, a Persian adorned in Lightstalker armor which was of gold plating, nodded. "Well then! This can be the chance I've been waiting for." He chuckled darkly as the Persian dismissed himself from the room. Feran lumbered over to the other side of his room, where he shifted into his anthro form and sifted through his documents of which lay strewn about on a desk.

He sifted through the documents until he found it, the one with an image of a small black-furred winged wolf drawn onto the first page. The page was clipped to several others, and he flipped through them.

 _Fenrir...Darkness...The Void…._ Lygon thought until he reached the page with the image of the subject as he was now, a Fenrir in adulthood. _Lord Fenrir...will lead the world to Nothingness..._ He must prevent it, there was enough Darkness and corruption as it was and adding the only known individual with full mastery of Void to the ever-growing list of them was not something he'd let leave alone. "So you have been making deals with the Shadowed Saints, Lord Fenrir. And Lady Arceus.." In truth, Feran didn't know what to make of the fact that the Arceus was there as well. _Wait._ He could use that to his advantage. He could back her into a corner and she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Feran smirked. He'd win. It was just a matter of when now.

* * *

" _ **Man is a being with free will; therefore, each man is potentially good or evil , and it's up to him and only him (through his reasoning mind) to decide which he wants to be…."**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Yeah, this one's late and shorter than usual. Blame Sis though, she left me to do the last bits while she's off taking the piss with her relatives hahaha. Hopefully mates, this chapter isn't so cringeworthy.**

 **Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Pokemon, not us.**

 **Chapter 12: Breakthrough**

 _ **With Aurora…**_

Aurora smiled brightly as Hugh and Roxanne walked (not so much walking as they were limping, they REALLY went all-out against the two humans in their second-to-final test that morning) up to a regal Jeanne who was adorned in her golden-and-white armor, her sword floating in a vertical position next to her. Both Hugh and Roxanne kneeled before the Arceus, who was then joined by Darko who was also in his armor which was made of a darkened steel of sorts.

 _You two have done well to make it this far._ Jeanne began as she nodded at Aurora, and then Alpha who, unlike the Akirari, was standing on all fours instead of sitting on his haunches. _Your teachers believe you two worthy of the final test, worthy of Knighthood under our name_. Darko nodded his agreement.

Aurora noted the two humans' expressions with amusement as several Legendaries of the Council and few others came to watch the proceedings. Roxanne and Hugh were trying to keep their calm under the eyes of the many Legendaries, and they weren't being very successful at it.

The Akirari then smiled wider when she saw Roxanne look at Alpha, who simply nodded at her and gestured towards Jeanne with a paw. Aurora wanted to laugh and tease the human girl who almost immediately recovered her composure and even helped Hugh with a few words, causing him to instead swell with pride rather than being cowed by the amount of attention they were receiving.

 _Before we proceed further, I'd like to make the announcement that you two are actually the fastest recruits we've ever had,_ Darko stated, _the others are still in their training, most not even close to being halfway to finishing. Take pride in your growth as we acknowledge your feat._ At his words, the Legendaries, Originals, and Knights all gave their own proclamations of praise.

 _Amazing job, you two!_ Aurora decided to cheer, and the two looked at her with great smiles (though their cheeks were flushed from the praised) before Darko continued.

 _But before your Knighting,_ everything quieted at the Arceus's words, _you have one last test you must overcome in order to receive your titles and Knights' armor._ He smiled warmly. _But that is not the true purpose of this meeting. Today, you are here to get a taste of what may be your future days in the Halls of Origin._ Another roar of approval from the onlookers as the two Arceus summoned a large table in the center of the enormous chamber complete with countless food and beverages. Two jaws were dropped at that moment.

 _Do not mind the pun Lord Arceus unintentionally made,_ Jeanne said with a smirk as Darko widened his eyes. He chuckled after realizing what he had said as did some of the others. _Now then, permission is granted to partake in the feast to all of you,_ she gestured to those who came to watch the proceedings, _who actually gave a care and came to this meeting for our recruits. Enjoy, but we expect all of you to return to your duties as soon as the food is cleared._

…

"What are you doing, Hugh?" Aurora asked as she took a moment to spear her fork through a dumpling and bringing it to her mouth. Hugh's hands were currently shaking as he ate, his utensils sometimes scraping against his plate.

"I believe he's feeling self-conscious at the moment." Alpha answered for the quiet human, gesturing to the the Legendaries sitting on either side of Hugh. The Legendaries were both minding their own business though, not really paying him any attention as they talked to their own acquaintances.

"Just relax, Hugh!" Roxanne was sitting diagonally of Hugh and across from Alpha, who was next to Aurora. The Fenrir wasn't paying attention to the food, having already eaten earlier. Rift and Oculus had left, the former wanted to go back to watch the house while the feast took place and Oculus went with him just for extra support in the case someone invaded the house. Aurora was eating heartily though, she didn't care whether or not she was lacking manners. Most of the occupants in the room were good friends she knew, and they were eating just as in the same regard as she was.

She just made sure not to overeat...Got to watch the weight, you know?

"She's right, you have nothing to worry about. We're all friends here." Aurora said, smiling when Hugh seemed to gain more confidence and ate with renewed vigor. She then paused, thinking about one of her brothers with a frown. "I need to check on how Nyx is doing…" she muttered. Both Pyralis and Raiden were either in Kanto or Johto, but her sweet Umbreon of a brother hadn't yet returned from his quest yet. She resolved to asking Jeanne about him later, making sure to make a note of doing just that after the feast.

"So when are we taking that test?" Hugh asked.

"Most likely sometime this week." Alpha-No, Aurora reminded herself, _Ryker_ , answered. He was about to say more about it but a finger tap to the shoulder from the Original sitting next to him gained his attention. "Yes, Miss..?"

The Original, a silver-black furred fox one at that, smiled and shook her head. "No formalities, we're all comrades-in-arms here. I go by Yvette, and you're Lord Fenrir, yes?"

" _Comrades-in-arms?"_ thought Aurora, and it was only then the Akirari took in the fox's full appearance. She was wearing Knights' armor, which was mainly a smoky gray with dark red accents that matched her eyes. A quiver of ebony rested on her back, Aurora could that it was filled to the brim with arrows that had shafts of onyx. The Akirari wondered what the Knight's bow was like, imagining one up in her mind's eye that had a matching color scheme to the arrows and quiver.

"I am." Ryker replied with a surprisingly light tone, Aurora was glad he was putting some more effort into being amiable towards those other than herself and their group. "You have something to ask of me?"

"I'm wondering if you can possibly…" The Knight flushed, her words caught in her throat. Aurora saw Roxanne in the corner of her eye stabbing at her food violently, and when the human realized what she was doing, she expressed confusion as if she had no idea what caused the sudden aggression. Aurora inwardly snickered at the situation. "You see, I'm hoping to strengthen my abilities but I'm not getting much currently." She held up a hand and produced a ball of Darkness. "I'm adept at using it, but I know I have the potential to make it grow stronger. I just don't know how." She smiled, seemingly gaining more confidence as she continued. "And I heard you have complete mastery over it _and_ Void, so I figure you'd be my best bet."

"You haven't went to anyone else?" Aurora asked, curious since there were others in the Hall of Origins that were of the Dark (but not exclusively). The Knight, Yvette, shrugged.

"Thought it would be easier Original-to-Original, you know?" She then chuckled. "And I'll be honest, I'd get to learn more about the mysterious Lord Fenrir of the Halls at the same time if he decides to help me." As far as Aurora knew-though not to Roxanne's and that only amused her further-Yvette was genuinely only trying to get stronger.

 _Well then, it's all up to Ryker then._ Aurora returned to eating.

"I suppose it's not too much trouble." Ryker gave Yvette a small smile to assure her. Aurora looked over at Roxanne to see the human Knight-to-be calmly taking a sip from her glass of water, setting it down and taking another bite of her food...after _violently_ stabbing her food, of course. Hugh had been watching her and jumped when she did, almost shoving against one of the Legendaries he was sitting in between with the action. "It would have to wait until after these two," Ryker gestured to Roxanne and Hugh, "pass their test and become full-fledged Knights. Would that be fine?"

Yvette clasped her gloved hands together, grinning. "Of course! Should I give you my number so you can contact me whenever-?" Aurora winced as Roxanne suddenly stood up, cutting off Yvette's question and directing attention to her.

"Alp-Lord Fenrir?" Roxanne asked as she gave Ryker a barely disguised glare hidden behind a smile, "would you mind helping me with somet-?"

She never finished her sentence, for Darko and Jeanne, both had been sitting at the far end of the table nearest the side of the room opposite of the side with the entrance to the chamber, rose from their seats with expressions of surprise.

"Lord Feran?" Darko asked before shifting into his true form, as did Jeanne. _What's the meaning of this?_ Aurora shifted into her true form, alarmed at the sight of the Manticore and a platoon of his army file into the room.

"I received word," Feran began smugly, "that one of your Legendaries, Lord Fenrir to be frank, was conspiring with the Shadowed Saints."

 _Preposterous!_ Jeanne exclaimed as Aurora watched Ryker with concern. The Fenrir was showing no emotion, his previous friendliness was gone and his eyes had gone cold since the last few seconds. _He would never side with them and we've been over this, Lord Feran, he is loyal to us and only us._

"I can call forth my witness right now, if you wish." Feran countered. "You can examine his memories for falsifications, as I already have. You'll find that it is exactly as he claimed, and that his memory hasn't been tampered with as well so no one could have possibly implanted a fake memory of Lord Fenrir meeting with the Shadowed Saints." At his words, a Persian separated from the bulk of the soldiers and presented himself for everyone to see with a bow.

 _Lord Uxie,_ Darko growled and the pixie-like Legendary came forth, _examine his memories and establish a connection with us so we can see for ourselves._ The Uxie nodded, floating over to the Persian. After the Persian closed his eyes, and the Uxie opened his eyes to begin the process (Aurora made sure she wasn't looking, and the Uxie warned everyone to look away as well), she noticed Ryker making eye-contact with Jeanne.

 _What?_ Aurora thought, confused, as the two almost imperceptibly nodded to each other. She then watched Darko who was seemingly keeping an eye on Feran who, at the moment, was facing away from all of them due to Uxie facing his direction.

 _I see…_ They all returned their attention to Darko who spoke as Uxie returned to his side. Darko then glanced over at Ryker, almost regretfully. _Lord Fenrir, would you like to defend yourself in this?_ Ryker remained silent, and Aurora and the group were looking at him with alarm.

 _Say something!_ Aurora told Ryker desperately. It couldn't be true, could it? Had her doubts finally been realized? She dearly hoped it was all a ploy, and the only reason why she even had hope was because of the fact that Ryker was their friend, family, and that the strange interaction that went between him and Jeanne just moments earlier.

"Hm. Seems like we've caught him red-handed." Feran stated haughtily. He then smiled, leering at Jeanne. "Men." At his command, several of his soldiers came forth with chains and binds. "Lady Arceus, you seem to be troubled. Perhaps, you have something to say?"

For some reason, Aurora knew that he was intentionally goading the Arceus. He had _something_ on Jeanne, something that was keeping her from doing something about the dire situation. She was backed into a corner, somehow, in someway. But with what, Aurora had no clue. As for Feran, seeing as Jeanne wasn't replying, motioned for his soldiers to surround Ryker who stood up.

"Lord Fenrir," Feran said as he walked over, "forgive us but this is only precautionary. Please change into your weakest of forms, if your current form isn't." Ryker was still silent, but nodded, before shifting into his human form, Aurora finding his human appearance to fit him perfectly. The Akirari also caught a quiet gasp from someone, though from who, eluded her. "Please do not resist."

 _Smug...bastard._ Aurora cursed as they clasped the binds and such onto Ryker. _Alpha, what are you doing? Defend yourself and explain that you're innocent!_ At least, that was she tried to say to him, though he seemed to have blocked her off from his mind.

Nothing was said as they began to escort Ryker out of the chamber. Aurora tried to gauge everyone's expressions. Darko and Jeanne's were strangely calm and she noted to ask them later, Hugh looked torn between moving to help Ryker and just staying to keep the situation from getting worst, and as for Roxanne…

She was running towards Ryker and Feran's platoon! _NO! Roxanne!_ Aurora thought as she prepared to stop the Knight-to-be, but stopped at the expression of distraught and desperation on her face. "Wait!" Roxanne called, prompting Feran and his soldiers to turn around. Ryker could only turn his head to look at her.

"Step back, girl." Feran warned. "Do not try and get close to him."

"...Please…" Roxanne said, barely audible. Her tone sent a shock through Aurora. Widening her eyes and looking frantically to the two Arceus, and then Ryker, Aurora could only think of one thing...The tone Roxanne had used, the look on her face upon seeing Ryker in his human form, the look of _recognition._

 _Could she...Has she finally figured it out?_

"I want to have a few words with him, just a few words." Roxanne pleaded. Before Feran can answer, Ryker made his way over to Roxanne despite his bindings. It could have been a comical sight, seeing him effortlessly drag the soldiers with him as he walked over, had it not been for the seriousness for the situation.

"What is it, Roxanne?" Ryker asked tenderly, showing emotion once more. He was calm, but that didn't last for long as Roxanne suddenly cupped his face with shaking hands. Aurora watched the worry flash across Ryker's eyes, she could tell that he wondered what could possibly be ailing her... except for the fact that he was going to the Beacon, of course.

She was crying. Aurora could see the tears fall from where she was standing. Crying and her breathes giving evidence to slight hyperventilation, Roxanne finally met Ryker's eyes.

"I thought they looked familiar... " Roxanne started.

"What do you-?" Ryker started.

"Your eyes. They're white. I didn't think much of them, since you're not human, but there's no mistaking them now." Roxanne was breathing harder as she went. ".. And your choice of words. Even now, after all these years, you talk like you were raised to be part of King Arthur's knights of the round table." She chuckled, though it was weak and caught in between sobs. "And whenever you talk to me... What do I make you call me by?"

"Roxy?" Ryker was completely confused as to where she was going to this, Aurora could see it plastered across his face with capital letters.

"Exactly." Another choked chuckle. "It's so familiar...that...tone you use when it comes to saying it. Sure, your voice is deeper, but still..." Her tears fell faster now, and Aurora couldn't imagine what might happen after this. "Do you not remember me, Ryker?"

"How do you know my name?" Ryker asked immediately, though he wasn't hostile about it. He seemed to be restraining himself, seeing as he talking to Roxanne.

"You don't... Please, remember Ryker. Remember all the times I came over, we played with each other all the time back home."

 _Ryker..._ Aurora thought as she saw the Fenrir wince and clutch his head, the chains that hung from his wrist noisily clanging. He was beginning to remember... His repressed memories were no doubt about to resurface.

"Ryker... Please remember!" Roxanne continued. "The village! My parents! When I got lost, what did you do? You hugged and comforted me... Ry..."

 _..._

 _ **With Ryker...**_

He was in agony.

Ryker clutched his head with both hands as he sank to his knees, a roar erupting from throat making it go raw within moments. Even with his eyes closed, he _saw. everything._ The Fenrir felt as if someone stuck a barbed pike and stirred his brain with it. He could faintly hear Daina calling out for him, though he payed no heed.

Then, he saw it. All of it. Every single detail. Ryker couldn't do anything but to relive his repressed memories of his family's slaughter, being put down like mere dogs.

…

 _He was frozen, eyes wide with fear and body paralyzed. Ryker could only watch from his hiding place as his father received a pitchfork to the stomach. Eyes fierce though the fire in them waning, Shadow shoved away the attacker and tore out the pitchfork from his abdomen. His blood stained the floor as he stepped in front of his mate and youngest pup, Midnight and Vulcan, Ryker's mother and little brother._

" _Please," Shadow pleaded, "just spare my family! We've done nothing to wrong you!"_

" _You gorge on our livestock!"_

" _You feast on our families and friends!"_

" _You deserve to die, you monsters!"_

 _Shadow fell to a knee as another village guard trailed a line of fire across his stomach with a sword, Midnight crying out for her mate and Vulcan whining. "Love, just r-!" Shadow was cut off as his throat was sliced open, before one of the guard decided to plunge his sword deep into the surrendered Fenrir's abdomen._

 _The rest of the village guard didn't even bother sparing the dying Fenrir a second look as they immediately moved on the Midnight and Vulcan, cutting them down as well before they had a chance to escape. Ryker found himself unable to look away or do anything, even as his family's screams pierced the night air and echoed in his head._

 _Why they didn't fight back, Ryker couldn't understand. Why HE couldn't move was more than beyond his comprehension….He could've stepped in...He could've done something...anything. But Ryker had difficulty processing his thoughts, as his vision soon became clouded while his body sagged with a sudden heavy weight. His thoughts soon came to a stop as only one word registered. It came like a whisper..a soft brush in his mind._

 _ **Kill...**_

…

 _All he saw was red. He didn't care that all he could smell was blood. He didn't care that he tasted it, as coppery as it was. He ignored the gore that matted his fur. He didn't even bother to tend to his wounds that the villagers had inflicted. He could feel his blood gradually drain, but it continued to boil with his rage._

 _ **Kill.**_

 _He felt sadistic glee as his claws tore the humans into ribbons. Turning around to face the villager that was trying to sneak up on him, he simply snorted a bolt of flame that ignited the feeble human. Relishing the sounds of the wailing, dying human, Ryker spotted a father and child trying to sneak away out of the area unnoticed._

 _ **Kill!**_

 _He pounced._

 _The father's throat didn't give any resistance as Ryker bit down and viciously snapped left and right. More blood sprayed into his mouth and fur as the formerly alive father's son screamed in horror. Ryker didn't pay it any mind, only briefly noting to himself to deal with the annoying boy afterwards. The young Fenrir continued to tear apart the man's corpse until it was left unrecognizable, all in a manner or two seconds. Immediately, Ryker turned and batted the crying boy with a paw. Despite being only as large as a medium-sized horse, the young Fenrir still had significant power._

 _He then moved on to his other prey as the boy was sent into a tree headfirst, neck breaking and signaling that the boy was no more. Snarling, Ryker went after a woman he apparently missed. She was already mortally wounded, though it didn't stop her from attempting to crawl away. Ryker simply lunged, leaving three major gashes in the back of her neck and the force of his lunge also caused her spine to snap._

 _ **Avenge your family.**_

 _He didn't do so much as snarl when a sword pierced his side, glancing off one of his ribs and not going any further. Ryker instantly snapped at the sword, the blade was actually threatening to cut his maw as he did so, and shattered it with a powerful bite. He faintly registered the shards that embedded themselves in his gums and palate. Briefly whipping his head to the side with an abrupt growl, the shards shook loose though a few remained._

 _Ryker threw himself at the offender, the poorly armored guard screaming as they hit the ground. The latter tried to fumble around for his dropped sword, though Ryker was already tearing into his chest cavity. The man howled with agony as his ribcage was forcibly exposed, only gasping in unimaginable pain as Ryker clamped his jaws around his heart._

 _The heart bursted as Ryker's fangs sunk into it, and the Fenrir didn't stop there. Keeping a paw on the guard's chest to keep him steady, Ryker tore the heart out of its resting place and after a moment, tossed it to the side. It only seemed to be fitting to the young Fenrir. The humans were foul, enough to taint their own flesh and not even provide a good flavor to his tastebuds._

 _ **Hunt them all down.**_

 _And he continued on, wrathfully disposing of every villager he came across. He did his best keeping them from escaping the area, for they were all to be purged. He'd make sure they wouldn't spread their menace. He'd ensure that they wouldn't produce more murderous offspring. He didn't care for who they were; child, woman, or man. They all needed to pay. With blood._

…

He didn't realize that he had fallen to his knees, hands clutched to his head in an attempt to stave off the pain. He was shaking, his breathing was harsh with little control. With hands clenched and threatening to pull out his hair, he bared his teeth to the floor in a silent scream…

 _I...I killed them all...In cold blood…_

Ryker faintly registered someone, or maybe a few people, calling out his name. He didn't pay them any heed, all he heard was the constant screams of those he had butchered. All the men..women..children..He had condemned them all to the afterlife, if there was one. It was...unfair of him.

Ryker shook his head. He had been judge, jury, and executioner to those people of the village. No one had the right to take the role of being all three. Not even himself.

 _N-Ngh._

Another painful pang, Ryker almost groaned out loud at the suddenness of it. Why was he questioning it again? He was the damned Fenrir of the Legendaries, for blood's sake! He was known to be cold, ruthless, and willing to do whatever needed to be done no matter how moral, or _immoral_ the method. Of all times to question his ethics, it had to be as he was having an identity crisis.

No...The answer was simple, he was just simply over-thinking it. As his colder side took over, Ryker reminded himself that he never killed without reason. Back at the village...it had been in rage, for the loss of his family. He had...overdone it, but it was his _family_. He was the. Last. Fenrir. That was enough of a reason as any.

He never killed without reason...And if there wasn't one, he could always _find_ one.

This was it. He couldn't take it anymore. Ryker sighed shakingly as he slowly regained his bearings. The original plan he had agreed on with Jeanne...They'd meet up with the Shadowed Saints leaders, and the negotiations would go wrong, as expected. Feran's spy would see the entire meeting go down "covertly", due to the rumors that surely had been spread among the Halls of Origins. Feran would get word, and at the next opportunity, strut right in and arrest him. Ryker would be taken to the Beacon where, after some time waiting, the Shadowed Saints would raid the prison with the goal to free him, thinking that liberating him from the Beacon would persuade the Fenrir to join their cause. Ryker would then take apart the Shadowed Saints' leadership from the inside, taking over and after joining back up with those of the Hall of Origins, knock down Feran a few pegs or rid themselves of his corruption and forces entirely. They would then free the imprisoned innocents at the Beacon, _destroy_ the Beacon with their combined forces, and make sure no other force like Feran and his Darkstalkers would rise ever again.

But alas, Ryker didn't care for any of it at that moment. He wanted to be _gone_. To hole up somewhere and just separate himself from the outside world. Cowardly, yes, but it was an option.

He could also...No..Could he?..Yes..He could also give in to his innermost desires. To hunt down all who had scorned him. To rectify whatever he felt needed fixing. To _purge_ the toxins killing the world that was the humans for their natural greed and irrationality...But that wasn't...It wasn't what he wanted to _want_ to do, even though it was.

He was conflicted.

"Ryker!"

He knew that voice. It wasn't the one that usually resided in his mind. No, he had already shut Daina out in order to protect her from his thoughts..His breakdown.

"Are you alright, Ry?" A pair of arms wrapped around him, embracing him for all that it was worth. The sensation wasn't cool like snow, so it wasn't Aurora either. And as there were a pair of arms around him, not just a single arm hugging him, he ruled out Hugh as well since the Knight-to-be always hugged with a single arm, not once using both. "Ry, can you hear me?" She...Yes, she sounded worried. It couldn't have been Oculus, for he lacked arms, and it couldn't have been Rift either since the Alakazam only spoke via telepathy. And, of course, they were both males. It couldn't be Darko, and the voice wasn't motherly so it couldn't have been Jeanne.

…

" _No fair, Ry!" Ryker kept his expression neutral, as was his habit, but he was thoroughly amused. He watched as Roxy tried to climb up after him. She tried to find the footholds that he had used to get up the large tree, though to no avail. "You do this all the time!" she called from the ground._

" _How would you know?" he asked, leaning against the base of a thick branch with crossed arms. Roxy put her hands on her hips, raised an eyebrow, and her lips contorted to a victorious smile._

" _Your mom tells me some things, she talks about you sometimes." was her answer. Ryker only nodded in understanding and watched Roxy try to climb the tree again. This time though, her determination to succeed blazed in her eyes. She didn't attempt to talk to him as she climbed again, only focusing entirely on where to place her hands and where to stick her feet in._

 _She made it a good deal up the tree, Ryker's spot just a couple of reaches away. Ryker wasn't leaning against the branch anymore, instead watching interestedly as she continued to close the distance between them. He was still, only his eyes moving as they followed her movements. He didn't stay still for long though, as he spotted her grip slip and without hesitation, dove after her as she fell from a great height._

 _As they fell, Ryker managing to grab her and turn so that she'd land on him when they impact, the former thought as Roxy shrieked at their plight that in hindsight, maybe he should have had her climb a smaller tree as it was her first time. They were children, after all, a great fall from a tree could seriously injure them._

 _Well, just Roxy. She was human._

 _Ryker let out a small grunt as they hit the ground, Roxy only rolling off of him relatively unscathed. He figured that there would only be a slight bruising on his chest later, though it would heal in no time. His parents would no doubt question what he did to get such a thing though. "Ry!"_

 _Roxy was over him in a second, careful not to touch him in case he was injured in places she couldn't see. Ryker let his emotions slip just once, his eyes crinkled upwards in amusement as he watched her inspect for injuries. "I'm just fine."_

" _How could you be!?" she asked, frantic. She gestured up at the tree. "We fell from so high up!" She settled down, sitting on her knees, and covering her face as she began to sob. "I-I should've been more c-careful. I'm s-sorry, R-Ry-!" She stopped when he patted her knee reassuringly. Looking at him with nervous eyes, Ryker only smiled._

" _I'm alright. You don't need to worry about me, I'm not that injured at all." He sighed as she tried to suppress her sobs, patting her knee again. "I promise, I'm not." Roxy nodded, taking a moment to compose herself before motioning for him to move his arm away._

 _Complying, Ryker was warmed as she settled against his side, head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're ok, Ry. Just make sure to ask your parents to check just in case, okay?" Ryker nodded, smiling as she hugged him and steadied her breathing. Hm, if they kept up at it, they'd probably fall asleep again. He wouldn't really mind, they were just outside the village in the outer edge of the Whispering Grove. He'd hear anything trying to sneak up on them. And he'd protect her, he swore his blood on that._

 _She, aside from his family, was the only one to make him feel so content. There was no other he knew that replicated the feeling, and he didn't mind if it were to stay that way. And he was sure it was the same for Roxy, to him._

" _I will, Roxy." Ryker replied, turning to smile at her despite the still-drying tears on her beaming expression._

And with that memory, came along a few more of her.

 _..._

Looking up wearily, Ryker met the eyes of a very concerned Roxanne. _Roxy...It's the same expression she wore that day..._ Her eyes teary, Roxy hugged him once more and buried her head in the crook of his neck. Ryker could feel with guilt the tears that wetted his neck.

"...Do you remember now?" she asked. Ryker slowly nodded. Sighing inwardly, he supposed that he should restrain himself from lashing out at humans in general, Roxy was human too after all. And it wouldn't be right, anyway, even he wouldn't stoop so low as to blame an entire race for what happened to his family.

"I...do.." He felt her grip his shoulders hard for a moment before relaxing, she sobbed in relief as Ryker made to hug her.

Only to grab empty air as she was sent crashing into the table, where the other Legendaries stood in shock.

It took Ryker a moment to realize what he was feeling at the sight of her on the ground, table cloth covering her injured body. A growl rose from within without him even thinking, and rage similar to that day in Zenith surfaced as Ryker turned to face the one who dared lay a hand on Roxy.

…

 _ **With Hugh…**_

Hugh was instantly at Roxanne's side, helping her up as Aurora appeared to heal her wounds. He heard the two Arceus and Feran shout at each other as he mentally reached out for his Noctowl and Alakazam partners. _You two need to get here now!_ Knowing that it would take awhile for his message to find its way to Rift, Hugh spared a glance back at the scene.

The first thing that grabbed his attention was the malevolent growl that emanated from Alp-er, Ryker. He watched as the guards holding the Fenrir-in-human's clothing lose their footing as Ryker viciously tossed them to the nearest wall by his chains. Still growling, he snapped apart his binds as the area began to dim in light considerably. Hugh stepped back, watching as Darkness rose from everyone's shadows and move towards Ryker, rising up the legs in a slow but gradual rate.

Feran and the two Arceus ceased the arguing over the Manticore's recent unnecessary treatment of Roxanne and they, along with everyone else in the room (including Roxanne, though she was recovering from Feran's bat of the paw) focused their attention on Ryker.

The Darkness began to cover his torso, soon enveloping Ryker entirely and leaving his appearance with no distinguishable details save for a few things other than the fact that his entire body was just covered in black matter. Ryker's hands had grown into claws at their tips, and his ears extended into an angle, almost like that of an elf. Almost. And Hugh noticed, as he began to feel sick at the sight, Ryker's teeth that were simply there on the ground before him stained with blood. They...fell out of his mouth?

Hugh received his answer when Ryker growled again, baring a full set of fangs. His eyes were also devoid of pupils, only showing white that expressed nothing but rage.

Nothing but a blur. That was what Hugh saw. _What the-?_ he thought before realizing that Ryker was right in front of him. The next thing he knew, Hugh was on the ground with bruise quickly forming on his chest. He barely caught the sight of Aurora being sent into the wall, gashes along her side, before slumping to the ground. "Aurora!" _Wait, Roxanne!_ He tried to get up, but could only watch as the dark form that was Ryker raised a hand and out of nowhere, formed a transparent blackish barrier around Roxanne who on the ground, still trying to recover.

Hugh backpedaled as Ryker turned his gaze to him, though sighing with relief as the dark form regarded Hugh and Aurora with sudden recognition before moving on.

It was mayhem from that point.

When Hugh got to his feet and helped Aurora up, they saw Ryker mercilessly attacked anything and everything in that room. Legendaries were sent this way and that, knocked unconscious or incapacitated, Knights (of all three races; humans, Originals, and pokemon alike) had their armors and weapons shattered before they, too, were beaten, and Feran's forces especially were brutally attacked. Those that were smart enough not to intervene stepped away, from both parties.

Ryker then take a moment to stand in the center of the room, the ground littered with either unconscious or heavily injured persons, and _roared_. His form grew wings before he took off to go after those who decided to take flight, unleashing his wrath upon them as well.

 _Is this really Alpha? Wait, I mean, Ryker?_ Hugh thought. Suddenly, his two partners were at his side and Hugh sighed in relief before quickly getting to the point. "Quick, guys! Rift, heal Aurora as best as you can and Oculus, try and help me get Roxanne out of this barrier. No time to explain, let's go!"

And so they did. Rift began healing Aurora, the Akirari grateful for his help, and Hugh tried his best assaulting the barrier with his abilities with Oculus not really faring much better. He tried his best to ignore the bloodcurdling screams of agony, as well as the occasional splatter of what he knew must be blood.

"Hugh!" Aurora was in her anthro form, in white light armor that Hugh didn't take the time to make out the details of, and ran over to him with a slight limp. "Let me try Light to break this barrier!" Hugh barely heard her, as there was a lot going on around them and he heard several things at once. Screaming, battle cries, explosions from attacks, and the orders being given mingled all together.

Hugh looked back once more, seeing his allies and Feran's forces actually working together for the moment to try and restrain Ryker who was actually on all fours, growling at them like a feral.

"Let's see if this works." Hugh turned to see Aurora hurl a ball of Light at Ryker's barrier around Roxanne who was finally completely able. Hugh thought that the barrier would shatter under the ball of Light, as it seemed to make perfect sense to him that Darkness and Light were some sort of weaknesses to each other. And so, he watched as the barrier cackled for a moment before overwhelming and absorbing Aurora's Light.

Not the outcome he'd been expecting, to be honest.

He suddenly felt chills rattle his spine. Hugh immediately did a one-eighty only to sidestep, barely avoiding Ryker snarling past him. The enraged Ryker growled at Aurora before standing on his feet and moving through the barrier, not bothering to heed Roxanne's words of protest as he picked her up bridal-style and, with a snarl at everyone but Hugh and the rest of the close-knit group, before _vanishing_. The barrier shimmered away a moment later.

…

Jeanne had told them to search for the missing Ryker and Roxanne at the house, that was where she was sensing Ryker's dark signature. Before they left, everyone at the Hall of Origins did their best to recover. A great amount of them needed healing and such but before long, everyone was all and well. However, despite Feran agreeing to withdraw his forces and wait until everything was all sorted out, he promised to return to finally arrest the elusive Fenrir.

So, as it was now, the four of them were standing outside the house. Hugh could feel waves of Dark emanate from within, and had to swallow his apprehension as they finally stepped inside. "Ryker?" Aurora called out, Hugh thinking that it might not be wise for her to call him out by his actual name given the Fenrir's reaction to Roxanne knowing his name. The Fenrir was probably still not in the most trusting of moods. "Roxanne?"

"Up here!" replied Roxanne, though she sounded anxious. They rushed up the stairs, finding her in her room seated on her bed. However, in front of her bed, was Ryker in his true form. He took up quite the amount of space in her room. He instantly rounded on them, his form still covered in dark matter and eyes still glowing white, and growled in a warning for them to step back. He nearly snapped at Aurora who stepped a little too close, his fangs missing her hand by mere inches. "Ryker, don't!"

 _ **Will...protect…**_

The words seem to come from seemingly nowhere, but they all knew that it was the Fenrir's. "You don't need to." Roxanne pleaded. "Ry, they're our friends-no, our _family_! We can trust them!"

 _ **...Family...**_ Ryker ceased his growling and settled down, though still keeping an eye on them as he paced around Roxanne's bed to keep them from getting closer. Feeling that they were safe, Hugh chuckled tiredly.

"You alright, Roxanne?"

"I'm good." she nodded. She didn't seem to be concerned with her own condition, however, and was focusing on Ryker. "Ry, come here." she asked gently. Ryker froze in his tracks for a moment, regarding her with a blank expression. Hugh almost had to stop his jaw from detaching at what he saw next.

Roxanne held her arms out in a welcoming gesture, and Ryker stared for a moment before leaping towards her. In mid-jump, his form shrunk in size to accommodate for the room and her bed. He was in her arms in the next moment, Roxanne hugging him and allowing a few more tears escape in their reunion.

"Why?" she asked. Ryker's ears canted at her question. "Why didn't you tell me what you really are back then when we were kids? I wouldn't have minded...especially knowing that you were just a cute and cuddly wolf puppy back then." She giggled, and even Hugh cracked a smile imagining Ryker as a mini-sized Fenrir.

Suddenly, the dark matter covering Ryker dissipated and the Fenrir went slack for a moment before regaining his senses and looking at all of them, before staring at Roxanne who was still hugging him.

 _...Why….?_ Ryker asked before going rigid. For a few moments, he just sat there unmoving. Hugh wanted to try and walk up to the Fenrir and snap him out of it, but Ryker began moving again. _No...I lost control again..._ He hurriedly removed himself from Roxanne and returned to his normal size off the bed. Ryker then looked at each of them again, and Hugh felt his heart drop at his expression.

Ryker seemed completely anguished.

 _I'm sorry..._ Ryker said quietly, to all of them before staring at Roxanne for a moment. _Don't...Don't follow me...and I'm sorry, Roxy._

And he was gone in a cloud of dark matter. And they wouldn't see him again for years to come.

* * *

" _ **The key is to get to know people and trust them to be who they are. Instead, we trust people to be who we want them to be, and when they're not, we cry…"**_


End file.
